The investor-owned electric and gas utility serving Northwest Indiana – NIPSCO – has announced that it’s giving customers a credit, as the company is under investigation by state regulators for its handling of storm-related outages over the summer.
NIPSCO has been roundly criticized for its handling of the August storms that led to extended power outages.
And for bills that, in some cases, more than doubled without explanation.
Some blame has been leveled at Republican lawmakers for enabling the company and for not giving regulators enough authority.
Now, the company has announced a plan to credit about 57-million dollars in new revenue from data centers.
That amounts to an average monthly bill costing 5 dollars less for each of 18 months.
The utility says in addition, customers can expect more credits from data centers currently under development in Northwest Indiana.
PRESS RELEASE
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) today announced that it will deliver $57.5 million in savings to its existing electric customers generated through data center development. Subject to regulatory approval, the average residential electric customer is expected to receive a monthly bill credit of approximately $5 for 18 months, beginning approximately 30 days after approval.The credit is an expansion of the value being driven through our NiSource GenCo model and is an early example of how the region’s growth can create meaningful benefits for existing NIPSCO electric customers.The new credit builds on $1.75 billion in customer credits expected from previously announced agreements with Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft. Under those agreements, large-load customers will fund the infrastructure needed to serve them, while a portion of the revenues generated through their contracts will be returned directly to existing NIPSCO electric customers. Electric customers can expect the first of these credits to begin in the first quarter of 2027 and ramp up over time.“When our region grows, our customers share in the benefits,” said Vince Parisi, NIPSCO President and Chief Operating Officer. “Putting the value from data center development directly back on customers’ bills is one more way we’re turning growth into real savings for families across northern Indiana.”Visit NIPSCO.com to learn more about NIPSCO’s efforts to support customer affordability.
