AES Indiana
AES Indiana is a regulated electric utility serving Indianapolis and surrounding areas in central Indiana.
Last updated October 30, 2026
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Overview
AES Indiana is a regulated electric utility serving Indianapolis and surrounding communities in Indiana, United States. The business was formed in October 1926 through the merger of Indianapolis Light and Heat Company and Merchant's Heat and Light Company, two electricity providers whose roots extended back to the 1880s. It initially served approximately 105,000 customers and later expanded its network beyond the Indianapolis urban area through rural electrification work. The company was historically known as Indianapolis Power & Light Company, commonly abbreviated as IPL and sometimes identified as IPALCO. AES Corporation acquired the utility in 2001, making it the largest utility within AES's portfolio. On February 24, 2021, the customer-facing brand was changed from Indianapolis Power & Light to AES Indiana. The rebranding connected the utility more visibly to its parent company while preserving its established Indiana service identity. AES Indiana provides electricity to more than 500,000 customers across a service territory of approximately 528 square miles. Its customer base includes residential, commercial, and industrial users. The utility's activities include electricity generation, transmission and distribution, grid operation, outage response, infrastructure maintenance, and customer-service functions associated with a regulated electric company. The company operates a generation portfolio that, according to the cited reference material, includes three coal-fired generating stations, a combustion-turbine facility, and an interest in a wind farm. The listed generating resources have an aggregate nameplate capacity of approximately 3,513 megawatts: Eagle Valley Generating Station, Harding Street Station, Petersburg Generating Station, Georgetown Gas Turbine Power Plant, and Hoosier Wind Farm. The portfolio illustrates the operational mix of a legacy Midwestern utility, combining large thermal stations, peaking capacity, and renewable generation. AES Indiana has also been associated with notable technology and legal developments. In 1990, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Commissioner v. Indianapolis Power & Light Co. that certain customer deposits required by a public utility were not taxable income. In 2008, IPL integrated a four-megawatt, grid-scale lithium-ion battery system described in the reference material as the first of its kind at that scale, using storage for frequency regulation. The company has additionally faced the practical reliability and maintenance challenges associated with large generating assets, including an extended repair to the Eagle Valley plant in 2021. AES Indiana remains a locally operated regulated utility within the AES corporate system. Its business is shaped by Indiana regulation, reliability obligations, fuel and purchased-power costs, generation planning, infrastructure investment, and the broader transition in the United States electricity sector.
History
AES Indiana's corporate history begins with the development of electric service in Indianapolis during the late nineteenth century. Indianapolis Light and Heat Company and Merchant's Heat and Light Company both began providing electrical service in the 1880s. These predecessor businesses were combined in October 1926 to create Indianapolis Power and Light Company, the organization that later became AES Indiana. At the time of the merger, the newly formed utility served about 105,000 customers. The company expanded beyond the central city as electricity became more widely available across Indiana. In 1937, IPL began a rural electrification program that extended power lines into areas outside Marion County. This expansion reflected the broader development of American electric utilities, in which regulated companies built networks linking urban customers, smaller communities, farms, and industrial users. IPL moved into its present headquarters building on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis in 1935. The building had been constructed in 1924 for Continental Bank and later became known as the Electric Building. It was remodeled in 1968 according to a design by Lennox, Matthews, Simmons & Ford, with lighting design by Norman F. Schnitker. The site became a longstanding physical marker of the utility's connection with Indianapolis. The company was involved in an important federal tax dispute in the late 1980s. The Internal Revenue Service examined deposits IPL required from customers with poor credit histories and treated those deposits as taxable income. The dispute reached the United States Supreme Court in Commissioner v. Indianapolis Power & Light Co. In 1990, the Court held that the customer deposits at issue were not taxable income to the public utility. The decision became a significant legal reference concerning the tax treatment of utility customer deposits. AES Corporation acquired IPL in 2001. Following the acquisition, IPL operated as part of AES's utility portfolio while continuing to provide local regulated electric service. The utility's generation and delivery responsibilities remained focused on Indianapolis and nearby parts of central Indiana rather than becoming a national retail electricity brand. Technology became another notable part of IPL's history. In 2008, the company integrated a four-megawatt grid-scale lithium-ion battery energy-storage system. The system was used for frequency regulation and was described in the reference material as the world's first grid-scale lithium-ion battery installation of that type. It represented an early utility-scale application of battery storage before the technology became widely deployed across power systems. On February 24, 2021, Indianapolis Power & Light Company adopted the AES Indiana name. The change was primarily a brand and corporate-identity transition: the utility retained its Indiana service territory and regulated operating role while presenting itself as part of the AES family. At that time, the company served approximately 500,000 customers. The same year also exposed the operational risks associated with large thermal generating units. On April 25, 2021, the Toshiba steam turbine at Eagle Valley Generating Station could not resynchronize with the grid after a maintenance outage. A disconnected wire supplied a false indication to the control system, and repair work was delayed by inaccurate wiring diagrams in system manuals. Damage to the rotor and related components was not repaired until November 2021. Repairs at Petersburg Generating Station further limited available generation for part of the period, leading AES to purchase approximately $1 million of electricity to cover the shortfall. AES Indiana's current identity combines the legacy of a nearly century-old Indianapolis utility with AES's ownership and brand architecture. Its activities include regulated electricity service, generation, delivery-network operation, reliability management, and customer support. The company operates a portfolio containing coal-fired stations, a combustion turbine, and wind-generation capacity, while its earlier battery-storage project illustrates its participation in evolving grid technologies. The reference material also reports a 2026 agreement for a consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT to acquire AES Corporation. Under the reported arrangement, AES Indiana and AES Ohio would remain locally operated and managed regulated utilities.
- 2026
Reported agreement to acquire AES Corporation
[1]A consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT agrees to acquire AES Corporation; the reference states that AES Indiana would remain locally operated and managed.
- 2021
IPL becomes AES Indiana
[1]The company changes its customer-facing name to AES Indiana on February 24.
- 2021
Eagle Valley turbine repair
[1]A turbine failure following a maintenance outage leaves Eagle Valley Generating Station unavailable until repairs are completed in November.
- 2008
Grid-scale lithium-ion storage is integrated
[1]IPL integrates a four-megawatt lithium-ion battery system for grid frequency regulation.
- 2001
Acquisition by AES Corporation
[1]AES Corporation acquires Indianapolis Power & Light Company, bringing the utility into AES's portfolio.
- 1990
Supreme Court rules on customer deposits
[1]The Supreme Court rules in Commissioner v. Indianapolis Power & Light Co. that certain customer deposits required by the utility are not taxable income.
- 1937
Rural electrification begins
[1]IPL begins extending power lines into areas outside Marion County through a rural electrification program.
- 1935
Move to the Monument Circle headquarters
[1]IPL moves into the downtown Indianapolis building later known as the Electric Building.
- 1926
Indianapolis Power and Light Company is formed
[1]Indianapolis Light and Heat Company and Merchant's Heat and Light Company merge in October to form Indianapolis Power and Light Company. The new utility has approximately 105,000 customers.
Products and positioning
A locally operated, regulated electric utility for Indianapolis and central Indiana within the AES corporate family.
Electric utility service
Regulated electricity service
AES Indiana supplies regulated electricity to more than 500,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Indianapolis and surrounding central Indiana communities. The service includes the utility functions required to deliver dependable electricity within its regulated territory, including customer account support, system operation, and coordination of generation and purchased power.
Electric infrastructure service
Electric distribution and grid operations
The utility operates and maintains the local electricity-delivery network serving its approximately 528-square-mile territory. This activity covers distribution infrastructure, reliability management, outage response, and the continuing operation of the grid connecting generating resources with end users.
Electric power generation
Generation portfolio
AES Indiana's listed generating portfolio includes the Eagle Valley, Harding Street, and Petersburg coal-fired stations, the Georgetown Gas Turbine peaking facility, and an interest in Hoosier Wind Farm. Together, the reference material attributes approximately 3,513 megawatts of nameplate capacity to these resources.
Energy storage · 2008
Grid-scale battery storage
In 2008, the then-IPL integrated a four-megawatt lithium-ion battery energy-storage system for frequency regulation. The project was an early example of utility-scale battery deployment and forms part of the company's history of grid-technology experimentation.
Brand decisions
2026
AES Corporation acquisition agreementM&ABackground
AES Corporation's portfolio includes AES Indiana and other regulated and competitive energy businesses.
Action taken
A consortium led by Global Infrastructure Partners and EQT agreed to acquire AES Corporation for a reported enterprise value of $33.7 billion, including $22.7 billion of debt.
Aftermath
The reference states that AES Indiana and AES Ohio would continue as locally operated and managed regulated utilities.
Reported transaction enterprise value. $33.7 billion enterprise value, including $22.7 billion of debt (2026 reported agreement)
2021
Rebrand Indianapolis Power & Light as AES IndianaStrategyBackground
AES Corporation's Indiana utility had long operated under the Indianapolis Power & Light name, while remaining part of AES's utility portfolio.
Action taken
On February 24, 2021, the company adopted AES Indiana as its customer-facing brand.
Aftermath
The utility retained its local regulated service role and central Indiana market while becoming more visibly aligned with AES's corporate brand.
2008
Deploy grid-scale lithium-ion battery storageProduct launchBackground
Electric grids require balancing resources to help maintain frequency and reliability as supply and demand change.
Action taken
IPL integrated a four-megawatt lithium-ion battery system and used it for frequency regulation.
Aftermath
The project became a notable early utility-scale battery-storage installation.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Indiana commission approves AES Indiana's Hardy Hills solar project acquisition[2]
Reported:
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved AES Indiana's request to acquire the 195-megawatt Hardy Hills solar project in Clinton County, Indiana.
Sources2 sources
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