Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC (NIPSCO), a subsidiary of NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), has made a request with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to adjust its natural gas base rates. The request is largely driven by federal safety and compliance regulations, system upgrades to support economic development and job creation, and infrastructure modernization and improvements that directly benefit customers and communities – including an estimated $1.1 billion in investments through the end of 2024.

“Natural gas is a vital and critical resource to many – ranging from the manufacturing industry to home
heating,” said Mike Hooper, NIPSCO president. “Required investments such as these align with our focus to continually improve customer service, enhance the availability and reliability of our natural gas system, and provide an infrastructure to support new jobs and economic growth.”

The proposed increase, filed with the IURC today, will undergo a thorough and nearly yearlong regulatory review process that will allow for public input in order to strike the right balance of cost and service for NIPSCO customers.

“As a regulated energy provider, we have a responsibility to replace older parts of our system, reduce
potential risks, meet a host of federal compliance requirements, and improve the robustness and safety
of our system for our approximately 859,000 natural gas customers and the communities we serve
across 32 counties,” added Hooper.

How will residential customer bills change?
NIPSCO cannot change any rates or charges to its customers without the approval of the IURC. NIPSCO’s
electric rates are not affected by this request.

The request to increase gas base rates is related to the costs associated with delivering natural gas to
customers and comprises a smaller portion of the bill. NIPSCO does not mark up the price it pays for the
natural gas used by homes and businesses, and customers pay the same dollar-for-dollar cost NIPSCO pays. The cost of natural gas is one of the largest determining factors of gas customers’ bills.

Balancing the need for necessary system improvements while limiting the bill impact on customers is
important. Based on NIPSCO’s proposal, an average natural gas residential customer, as a result of this
case, would see an estimated overall increase of approximately $8 per month, or 10.6 percent above
projected bills at the time of implementation. Newly approved rates would be spread over two steps,
with the second step occurring no later than March 2025. Actual projected bill impacts for commercial
and industrial customers may differ as it will depend on usage, rate type and class.

Learn more about NIPSCO’s proposal at NIPSCO.com/2024gasrates.

Improved service to customers
Service to customers has continued to improve, and NIPSCO has furthered its commitment to customers
in several ways in recent years, including:

  • Safety enhancements:
    o Introducing smart technologies that allows for better detection of potential leaks that need
    to be addressed and the inspection of pipes to detect abnormal pipe conditions
    o Being among the industry leaders for emergency response time.
  • Natural gas infrastructure upgrades and modernization, including:
    o Natural gas expansion projects that included the installation of 26 miles of new 24” natural
    gas steel pipeline and 7.75 miles of new 30” natural gas steel pipeline
    o Natural gas upgrade to provide critical gas service to support industrial customers
  • Projects that support state and local economic retention, growth and job creation, including:
    o Modernization and upgrade of natural gas lines and regulator stations in order to continue
    to meet the needs of large employers across northern Indiana
    o Build out of natural gas pipelines to support new business investment in our service
    territory, creating new assessed value and jobs in local communities, for example:
  • ▪ Approximately 18.5 miles of 24” steel pipeline to support StarPlus Energy JV in
    Kokomo, Ind., a $3.1 billion investment creating 1,300 jobs in Phase 1. Phase 2
    announced in Oct 2023, to invest an additional $3.2 billion and create 1,400
    additional jobs.
  • Refining and expanding customer service, energy efficiency and energy assistance programs,
    including:
    o Expanded bill payment assistance programs for low-income customers, including seasonal
    SILVER (seniors) and SERV (active-duty military and veterans)
    o Live chat and Chatbot functions to assist customers seeking information
    o Enhanced NIPSCO Mobile App features