In short: Indiana customers lost about 312 minutes of power in 2024, and roughly 190 of those minutes came on major storm days (EIA). Home electricity cost 16.73¢ per kWh in July 2026, a little under the U.S. average. In Indiana, storms drive backup decisions, and the state’s export rules shape whether solar pays.
FEMA rates four separate hazards as relatively high for Indiana: winter weather, cold waves, tornadoes and strong wind. Each one can drop lines across a county in an afternoon. Here’s what the state’s numbers say about getting through those outages and about solar, batteries and EV charging.
Indiana at a glance
- Home electricity price: 16.73¢/kWh in July 2026 (16.18¢ in July 2025) and 17.04¢ on average for January to July 2026, versus a U.S. average of 18.31¢ in July (EIA, preliminary).
- Outages (2024): about 312 minutes per customer including major events, 121 minutes without; about 1.3 interruptions a year, 1.0 without major events (EIA-861).
- Sun: about 4.0 kWh/m² per day in Indianapolis (NASA POWER, 2001–2020); rough estimate about 1,170 kWh per kW of panels per year.
- Net metering: closed to new customers of investor-owned utilities by July 1, 2022. New systems get Excess Distributed Generation (EDG) credits: exports measured instantly and paid at 1.25 times the utility’s average marginal price. Earlier customers keep net metering until 2032 or 2047.
- Plug-in solar law: none found as of October 2, 2026.
- EVs and charging: 47,200 battery-electric and 19,400 plug-in hybrid vehicles through 2025; 2,216 public ports at 730 locations, including 1,044 DC fast ports (AFDC, October 2026).
- Main utilities: Duke Energy Indiana (about 909,000 customers), AES Indiana (about 531,000), NIPSCO (about 493,000) and Indiana Michigan Power (about 482,000) (EIA-861, 2024).
- Weather risk (FEMA National Risk Index, Dec 2025): winter weather, cold wave, tornado and strong wind relatively high; ice storm and heat wave relatively moderate; wildfire and hurricane very low.
- Public Safety Power Shutoffs: no program found at Duke Energy Indiana, AES Indiana, NIPSCO, I&M or CenterPoint.
Backup power in Indiana
On ordinary days Indiana’s grid is middle of the pack: about one interruption a year and two hours out. Major events more than doubled that in 2024, from 121 minutes to 312. That’s the signature of a storm state: most years are fine, then a line of thunderstorms, a tornado outbreak or an ice event knocks out a region for a day or longer.
The season matters for what you back up. Summer wind storms mean food in the fridge, sump pumps in finished basements and, for some, air conditioning. Winter outages during a cold wave are more dangerous: the furnace blower and igniter need electricity even on gas, and pipes can freeze.
- Sump pump and fridge for a few hours: a portable power station or a small battery may be enough. Check run time with the battery backup calculator.
- A day or more, including the furnace: a portable generator through a transfer switch or listed interlock, sized with the generator sizing tool, is the most power per dollar.
- Hands-off backup: a standby generator on natural gas or a whole-home battery that switches over automatically.
CPSC says nearly 100 people die each year in the U.S. from portable generator CO poisoning. Its rules: outdoors only, at least 20 feet from the home, exhaust away from doors, windows and vents, never in a garage or basement even with doors open, and battery-backed CO alarms on every level. Hooking a generator or battery to house circuits is a job for a licensed electrician with a permit.
Solar in Indiana
Indiana gets moderate sun, about 1,170 kWh per kW of panels a year by our rough estimate. At 16.73¢, power you use yourself is worth about 17¢ a kWh, so each kW of panels could save up to roughly $195 a year if you used all of its output at home. In practice you won’t, and exports are where Indiana’s rules bite.
Under the EDG rules for the big investor-owned utilities, power is measured the instant it flows out of your home, and those exports are credited at 1.25 times the utility’s average marginal price, which is below the retail rate. What that means in practice:
- Size the system to your daytime use, not to your annual bill. A system that sends half its output to the grid pays back much more slowly than one that mostly runs your own home.
- Shift big loads (laundry, dishwasher, EV charging, pool pumps) into sunny hours.
- If you already had net metering before the cutoff, you keep it until 2032 or 2047 depending on when you joined; ask your utility how adding panels affects that.
Indiana’s confirmed incentive is a property tax deduction: the value a solar (or wind) system adds to your home is deducted from its assessed value (IC 6-1.1-12-26). You file Form 18865 with your county auditor. Read the statute and ask your auditor; rules and deadlines change. The federal solar credit ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025.
There is no plug-in solar law in Indiana, so any plug-in kit falls under your utility’s interconnection rules. More in our solar guide, solar costs, net metering explained and the solar potential calculator.
Home batteries in Indiana
With exports credited below retail, a battery lets solar owners keep more of their own power for the evening, and it adds storm backup at the same time. Indiana’s numbers are still small: of 11,045 net-metered home solar systems in EIA’s 2024 count, 629 had a battery (and newer EDG systems aren’t in that count). We didn’t confirm a state battery program. If backup is your main goal, size for the loads that matter in a winter outage, especially the furnace and sump pump. See home batteries and battery costs.
EV charging in Indiana
Indiana had 47,200 battery-electric vehicles registered through 2025 and 2,216 public charging ports. Almost half of those ports, 1,044, are DC fast chargers, a high share that helps on long highway trips.
Drive on another fuel? See every alternative fuel station in Indiana: hydrogen, propane, natural gas, E85 ethanol, biodiesel and renewable diesel.
At home, using about 30 kWh per 100 miles (a typical fueleconomy.gov-style figure), 100 miles costs roughly $5.02 at the July 2026 average rate, or about $50 for 1,000 miles. That’s an estimate; winter cold raises consumption, and time-of-use plans can lower the price for overnight charging if your utility offers one. Run your numbers with the EV charging cost calculator and compare chargers in EV charging at home. A Level 2 charger needs a 240 V circuit installed by a licensed electrician. The federal charger credit ended for chargers placed in service after June 30, 2026, and we didn’t confirm a state or utility charger rebate.
Off-grid, small wind and micro-hydro
Indiana’s flat, open farmland is windier than many people expect: NASA’s coarse long-term average is about 6.5 m/s at 50 meters, comfortably above the 4.5 m/s the U.S. Department of Energy’s small wind guidebook suggests for grid-tied turbines. At 10 meters it drops to about 4.5 m/s, so tower height matters. A small turbine can make sense on an open rural lot with room and a measured wind resource; in town, trees and buildings usually rule it out. The property tax deduction also covers wind. Fully off-grid homes are rare in Indiana because the grid reaches almost everywhere. We haven’t checked a state source on micro-hydro. Read more in off-grid power, wind energy and hydroelectric power.
Licensing and permits in Indiana
Indiana has no statewide electrician or electrical contractor license; the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency doesn’t license electricians. Licensing happens at the city or county level, for example in Indianapolis or Fort Wayne. Ask any installer which local license they hold and check it with that building department. Permits and inspections also come from your city or county, and solar or batteries need your utility’s interconnection approval before they switch on.
Local guides in Indiana
Utilities, rates, outage records, permit offices and local programs for each area:
Where we cover in Indiana
- Indianapolis: Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Westfield, Greenwood, Noblesville
- Northwest Indiana: Crown Point, Valparaiso
- Fort Wayne: Fort Wayne
- South Bend: South Bend, Mishawaka
- Evansville: Evansville
- Also on our list: Lafayette
Local pages will follow as we verify local information and installers for each area.
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Indiana energy FAQ
Does Indiana still have net metering?
Not for new customers of investor-owned utilities. New net metering ended by July 1, 2022. Newer systems receive Excess Distributed Generation credits, which measure exports instantly and pay 1.25 times the utility’s average marginal price, below retail. Customers who joined earlier keep net metering until 2032 or 2047. Co-ops and municipal utilities may have their own rules.
Do I need a licensed electrician in Indiana?
Yes for any wiring work, but the license is local: Indiana has no statewide electrician license, and cities and counties such as Indianapolis and Fort Wayne license electricians themselves. Ask your installer for their local license and the permit number, and confirm both with your building department.
Is there a solar incentive in Indiana in 2026?
The confirmed state incentive is a property tax deduction: the assessed value a solar or wind system adds to your home is deducted, so your property tax doesn’t rise because of it. You file Form 18865 with the county auditor. The federal residential solar credit ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025.
What size backup do I need for Indiana storms?
Start with what you can’t lose: fridge, sump pump, furnace blower, lights and internet. A portable generator in the 5,000 to 7,500 running-watt range on a transfer switch covers that for many homes; a battery needs enough kWh for a day or more. Use our generator sizing and battery backup tools with your own appliances to check.
Sources
Electricity prices: EIA Electric Power Monthly Tables 5.6.A and 5.6.B, July 2026 (preliminary). Outages, utilities and solar counts: EIA-861, 2024. Sun and wind: NASA POWER climatology, 2001–2020. Hazards: FEMA National Risk Index, December 2025. EVs and charging: Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC), registrations through 2025 and station counts read October 3, 2026. Net metering and EDG: Indiana law and utility tariffs as summarized in our state dataset, checked October 2026. Property tax deduction: Indiana Code 6-1.1-12-26. Licensing: Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.