The Spencer County Board of Commissioners today approved an economic development agreement with Indiana Michigan Power for the Rockport Energy Center, a 1,520-megawatt natural gas combined cycle plant. The project ranks among the largest utility construction undertakings in Indiana history. Shiloh Counsel serves as county attorney to the Board and helped negotiate the agreement.

Rockport has made electricity for more than forty years. Generations of Spencer County families have built their lives around its shifts and its paychecks. The coal units now approach retirement, and the county stood to lose both the jobs and the assessed value tied to them. This agreement puts new generation on the same ground.

I&M asked the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on July 20 to approve the project and expects a ruling in early 2027. Construction would start that year and employ roughly 1,200 workers. Thirty to forty permanent operating jobs follow once the plant runs. Power would flow by summer 2030.

The tax base matters as much as the payroll. Spencer County schools, roads, and public safety have leaned on revenue from the coal units for decades. A new plant on the same site holds that foundation in place.

Customers gain as well. I&M expects demand across its Indiana territory to more than double by the early 2030s. Generation the company owns and runs costs less over the long haul than power bought on a market where prices swing hard. Capacity at Rockport steadies those costs.

Work of this size takes years and many hands. The Commissioners, county staff, I&M’s team, and state and local officials all kept it moving. We are proud of the part this firm played.

Shiloh Counsel LLC advises counties, towns, and utilities on economic development agreements, energy and utility regulation, and the ordinances that follow. If your community faces a project like this one, we welcome a conversation.