Fired IURC commissioner files lawsuit against Governor Braun alleging ‘unlawful removal’

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Former utility regulator Andy Zay has filed a lawsuit against Governor Mike Braun and other state leaders alleging he was unlawfully fired from his appointed position as Commissioner at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

Zay filed the lawsuit Monday in Marion Superior Court saying that while the law allows the governor to remove an IURC Commissioner, the statute does not allow the governor to remove a commissioner “at the Governor’s pleasure, based upon political disagreement, or simply because the Governor disagrees with the Commissioner’s exercise of independent judgment.”

The governor fired Zay last week. The state cited “multiple potential violations of state policy; including failing to file a required financial disclosure after his removal as Chair, improperly awarding payments and personal gifts to employees, and directing staff to alter a public meeting agenda without consulting the new Chair,” according to a statement from the IURC.

In the lawsuit filed Monday, Zay says he was not provided notice of any specific allegations before his removal and was not afforded an opportunity to respond to any allegations.

Zay denies the allegations and says the alleged conduct does not constitute legally sufficient “cause” for removal, according to the lawsuit.

Zay was appointed to the IURC in January 2026. He is asking a court to restore him to his position as IURC Commissioner.

He also alleges in his lawsuit that the governor’s office pressured Zay concerning the AES rate case.

It alleges:

• During Commissioner Zay’s service on the IURC, representatives of the Governor’s Office sought to communicate with Commissioner Zay concerning the AES Rate Proceeding, the lawsuit read.
• On June 15, two days before the IURC was scheduled to act on the AES Rate Proceeding, Jaworowski called Commissioner Zay and told him, “You know affordability is a big deal to this Governor,” according to the lawsuit.
• On June 17, the IURC issued its decision in the AES Rate Proceeding. Shortly thereafter, Jaworowski called Commissioner Zay and conveyed Governor Braun’s disappointment with the outcome of the AES Rate Proceeding, namely that Commissioner Zay had voted in favor of any rate increase, even though the amount approved by the IURC was significantly less than the increase AES requested, the lawsuit alleged.
• Later that day, Commissioner Zay attended a meeting with members of the governor’s office and other State officials concerning the AES Rate Proceeding. 59. During that meeting, representatives of the governor’s office criticized the Commission’s decision and told Commissioner Zay, among other things, that he had “let the Governor down,” that “we told you not to do this,” and that “you know affordability is important to the Governor,” the lawsuit alleged.
• The lawsuit says on June 18, Commissioner Zay attended a meeting with Governor Braun, Jaworowski, Governor Braun’s Chief of Staff Joshua Kelley, and Abby Gray, the head of the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (“OUCC”), according to the lawsuit.
• During that meeting, after discussion concerning utility rates and the AES Rate Proceeding decision, Governor Braun asked Gray, “how are we going to fix this?” according to the lawsuit.
• The lawsuit alleges Commissioner Zay believed that continued discussion of the pending AES Rate Proceeding in that setting crossed into prohibited ex parte communications. Commissioner Zay therefore excused himself from the meeting and left.
• Zay’s lawsuit alleges he Governor’s Office also sought information concerning an open IURC investigation, sought an advance copy of an Investigative Inquiry on Energy Affordability Report that was not yet public, and requested that Commissioner Zay alter the timing of the presentation of the Investigative Inquiry on Energy Affordability Report to be presented to the Commission.
• Commissioner Zay believed those requests violated the IURC’s obligation to act independently and impartially and declined to comply with requests he believed were inconsistent with his legal and ethical obligations, according to the lawsuit.

Indiana’s I-Team is working to reach the Governor’s Office and the IURC for comment on the lawsuit.

Zay’s lawsuit also cites Indiana’s I-Team article in which Braun said he was disappointed that Zay did not take on affordability and holding utilities accountable.

“Governor Braun’s public statements tied Commissioner Zay’s removal to disagreement with Commissioner Zay’s approach to utility regulation and the AES Rate Proceeding, while characterizing the subsequently announced policy violations as ‘ancillary’” read the lawsuit.

Zay is asking for a declaratory judgment and for a court to declare Governor Braun violated Indiana law by removing him.

In June, Governor Mike Braun replaced Zay as chairman following IURC’s approval of an AES rate increase.

According to the IURC website, the commission is an administrative agency that hears evidence in cases filed before it and makes decisions based on the evidence presented in those cases.

“An advocate of neither the public nor the utilities, the Commission is required by state statute to make decisions in the public interest to ensure the utilities provide safe and reliable service at just and reasonable rates,” read the IURC website.

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