Opinion: BlackRock wants Indiana’s power grid. Here’s why I object

BlackRock, along with EQT, the Qatar Investment Authority and CalPERS, has announced a $33 billion deal to acquire AES Corp., the parent company of AES Indiana.

I am extremely concerned by the news that more than 500,000 Hoosiers in Marion, Hendricks, Morgan, Boone, Hamilton, Putnam, Johnson, Shelby and Hancock counties will now be served by a consortium that has fundamental conflicts with Hoosier values. Every one of these entities is concerning, and together this combined consortium is very troubling. This consortium will jointly own the power grid that central Indiana families depend on every single day. Hoosiers deserve to know who is asking for their trust — and what that trust is worth.

BlackRock isn’t here for our sugar cream pies. They’re here because Indiana’s grid is a once-in-a-generation infrastructure asset, and they want to own it.

In 2024, my office investigated and placed BlackRock on a watch list. Upon my recommendation as state treasurer, the INPRS board voted unanimously to remove BlackRock as a major asset manager for Indiana’s public pensions.

We are now faced with a consortium that not only includes BlackRock but also CalPERS, an agency funded below the national average and facing a congressional probe for losing more than $300 million in pension funds due to mismanagement and poor leadership; the Qatar Investment Authority; and a European private equity firm with no real interest in the lives of everyday Hoosiers.

When it comes to Wall Street proxy fights, corporations can argue it out in boardrooms. But when the asset at issue is Indiana’s power grid, the stakes are different — and the people paying the bill don’t get a vote.

Gov. Mike Braun, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission, the Indiana General Assembly and leaders from both parties have stated that affordability is a key policy priority and that lowering costs for Hoosiers should be a primary concern for state government. Hoosier leaders have shown their willingness to tackle affordability and security.

A few years ago, when another private equity firm, Blackstone, purchased a stake in NiSource subsidiary NIPSCO — the utility that provides energy to northwest Indiana — customers soon found themselves facing a significant rate hike. Will this consortium do the same? Will it prioritize a European ESG framework over grid reliability? Will it use Indiana’s infrastructure to advance an agenda that Hoosier ratepayers never voted for and cannot afford?

These are not hypothetical questions. They are the logical extension of a track record BlackRock has already established — in Indiana.

As Indiana’s state treasurer, I manage more than $16 billion on behalf of Hoosier taxpayers and retirees. I know what it looks like when a financial institution prioritizes its own agenda over the people it’s supposed to serve. I think of the family in Indianapolis watching their electric bill creep up every month. I think of the farmer in Hendricks County who cannot afford to have his power bill become a political statement. I think of the small-business owner in Avon who cannot pass a rate increase on to her customers.

These Hoosiers don’t have a lobbyist in Washington. They don’t have a seat at the table when a $33 billion deal gets signed.

Indiana has always welcomed investment — and so do I. Railroads, ports, highways, airfields and fiber — we have bet on every generation of infrastructure because we understood what it could do for our people. But welcoming investment has never meant surrendering accountability. It has always meant holding every investor to the same standard: Prove you are here for Indiana.

The burden of proof is on them. Hoosiers are watching. Until then, I cannot support this deal.

Daniel Elliott, a Republican, is the Indiana state treasurer