Committee Hears Ice Detention Cost, Electrical Grid Analysis Grant Updates
The Indiana State Budget Committee approved a $4 million federal grant to study how to minimize electrical grid infrastructure costs associated with high-demand customers like data centers. Some lawmakers expressed concern that the grant would primarily benefit data centers and utilities at the expense of consumers.
The Indiana State Budget Committee met to discuss state finances, including a federal grant for electrical grid analysis and the state's contract to house immigration detainees.
Department of Correction Commissioner Lloyd Arnold reported on Indiana's two-year contract with the federal government to hold immigration detainees at Miami Correctional Facility. The state has received over $20 million against roughly $22 million in expenses, with Arnold asserting the facility is already "in the black" due to shared costs and an expected increase in detainees. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement pays the state about $291 per bed per day.
Separately, the committee also approved a $4 million federal grant for a one-year study by the Indiana Office of Energy Development. Luke Wilson, chief policy officer for the office, stated the study aims to assess how to minimize electrical grid infrastructure costs for large load customers, including data centers and an "unnamed hyperscaler." The grant funds will be allocated to technical partners, including Duke Energy.
Democratic lawmakers, including Sen. Fady Qaddoura of Indianapolis, voiced strong opposition to the grant, arguing it would advance the interests of data centers and utilities rather than consumers. Qaddoura criticized the idea of subsidizing multi-trillion-dollar companies, especially in light of recent utility rate increases for AES Indiana customers approved by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.