In one of the most fossil fuel-dependent states in the country, Indiana utility customers’ energy bills are continuing to rise as global price shocks and coal and gas plant unreliability drive up prices, the Indianapolis Star reports. Fossil fuel prices have increased everywhere, but Indiana’s unusually high reliance on coal (58%) and methane gas (30%) to power its electricity grid, exposes customers to electricity bills nearly double what they were just two decades ago. Utilities are also forcing customers to pay extra because coal and methane gas plants are breaking down. The $600 million Eagle Valley gas plant broke just three years after opening and sat idle for almost a year, and another gas plant was shut down most of this year. A CenterPoint coal plant also broke in June and it’s unknown when it will come back online, how much it will cost to fix, or even exactly what broke. In the meantime, what is known is who will be paying the bill. “The utilities have zero risk related to fuel costs, or wholesale power prices for that matter,” Ben Inskeep of the Citizens Action Coalition told the Star. “All of the risk is absorbed by ratepayers as the utilities are allowed to pass on 100% of those costs to customers.” (Indianapolis Star)