Rebecca Thiele

Of the five major Indiana electric utilities, more than 19,000 households had bills that were past due in December and were eligible for assistance. More than 54,000 Hoosier households were on payment plans.

The Indiana Senate Environmental Affairs Committee adjourned without voting on a bill on Monday that would have created a climate solutions task force.

The bill cuts the amount of power utilities can buy from the grid during peak demand in half. That means they’d have to show they can generate about 85 percent of their energy themselves or from contracts with other companies.

New state science standards that require more climate education will go into full effect by next school year.