Consumer Group Launches “Stop Mike’s Hikes” Campaign to Hold Governor Braun Accountable for Soaring Utility Bills

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 23, 2025

Contact: Kerwin Olson (317) 702-0461 or kolson@citact.org 

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana’s longtime consumer advocacy organization Citizens Action Coalition (CAC) today launched “Stop Mike’s Hikes,” a new accountability campaign calling on Gov. Mike Braun to answer for skyrocketing electricity bills and change misguided energy decisions that are hurting Hoosier families and small businesses. 

A recent CAC report found Indiana’s monopoly utilities have enacted the most severe electric bill hikes in 20 years — with some families paying nearly $50 more a month than just one year ago. Instead of providing any meaningful action to help Hoosiers, Gov. Braun is calling for expensive coal, gas and nuclear energy to boost the state’s power supply.

The campaign, which comprises digital, outdoor and radio advertising, calls attention to the fact that bills are rising with no end in sight. Households across Indiana are being forced to make painful tradeoffs to cover their utility costs, and small businesses are struggling to stay afloat. The situation demands urgent action from leaders who have the power to stop utilities from gouging their customers and finally put consumers first.

“Hoosiers are hurting, and Governor Braun has the chance to lead. He’s inherited an energy landscape that’s been carefully designed to benefit utilities and big industry,” said CAC Executive Director Kerwin Olson. “The rate hikes Hoosiers have endured in recent years are just the tip of the iceberg. We need decisive action to reverse the policies that got us here in the first place and embrace energy solutions that will lower bills and ensure long-term reliability without sending costs through the roof,” Olson said.

Through executive orders and hollow rhetoric, Gov. Braun has instead chosen to prop up expensive and outdated energy sources like coal and gas—driving costs higher instead of steering Indiana toward real solutions. Indiana also enacted lavish incentives in 2019 to lure data centers to the state that are draining energy and water resources while creating few long-term jobs. 

Reliable and affordable energy solutions already exist, from energy efficiency to community solar to fairer siting policies to distributed generation that lets customers take control of their own bills. These options, along with greater utility accountability, will lower costs and protect consumers from this endless cycle of rate hikes. 

“The rate hikes Hoosiers have endured in recent years are just the beginning,” Olson continued. “We need leadership that embraces real solutions and puts consumers at the center of Indiana’s energy policy. Utilities always seem to get richer, and our families pay the price. That must change, and we desperately need real leadership from the Governor to reverse that trend.”

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More information is available at StopMikesHikes.com.