Indiana utility requests rate raise to fund natural gas infrastructure modernizations
(UI) – Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC, a subsidiary of NiSource Inc., has made a request with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission 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 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.
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:
- 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
- Being among the industry leaders for emergency response times
Natural gas infrastructure upgrades and modernization, including:
- 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
- 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:
- Modernization and upgrade of natural gas lines and regulator stations in order to continue to meet the needs of large employers across northern Indiana
- 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.
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