Today NIPSCO announced the expansion and upgrade of two natural gas facilities in the town of Merrillville and the town of Highland as part of its ongoing plan to modernize the energy delivery system across northern Indiana. This facility expansion work supports the company’s commitment to continuously leverage new tools and technology to improve, modernize and enhance the safe operations of its natural gas system.
Each facility upgrade will add an additional layer of safety protection to the existing natural gas transmission system through the installation of a new launcher site in Merrillville and a new receiver site in Highland. These new site additions will allow NIPSCO to run pipeline inspection tools and pipeline cleaning tools through the system. The tools are inserted at the launcher site and received at the receiver site; a magnetic method, that does not impact the steel pipeline material, is used to detect the start of any corrosion in the pipeline. This supports NIPSCO’s future plans of scheduled upgrade work to ensure a safe, reliable source of natural gas is continuously being distributed to customers and the communities served.
“System safety is a number one priority at NIPSCO. We continuously evaluate our current natural gas system and work with local, state and federal mandated pipeline safety regulated organizations to ensure the communities we serve are provided with safe, reliable natural gas service,” said Alexius Barber, NIPSCO Lake County Public Affairs and Economic Development. “NIPSCO appreciates the collaboration of efforts from the town of Merrillville and the town of Highland as well as the patience of residents while work is being performed. We will continue to work with community officials to minimize impact of this expansion work to residents during construction.”
This project work is expected to last through the end of this year and NIPSCO approved contractor, CJ Hughes, has been contracted for project construction.
The site location in Merrillville is south of 91st Avenue, located west of the Erie Lackawanna Trail at the company’s current natural gas facility. The site location in Highland is north of 45th Street, located west of the Erie Lackawanna Trail. Work at both site locations may impact the Erie Lackawanna Trail. NIPSCO asks trail travelers to please use caution at the designated job site locations and follow the direction of posted signage and on-site crew members. These safety precautions are in place to protect the safety of the community and on-site workers during construction. It is advised to refrain from traveling through marked barriers and trail closure signage when using the Erie Lackawanna Trail.
NIPSCO thanks the community, residents, and Erie Lackawanna Trail travelers as work is being performed.
Detecting a Gas Leak
Since natural gas is colorless and odorless, NIPSCO adds a harmless, non-toxic chemical that makes it easier to detect a gas leak before it can create a hazardous situation. The chemical, called mercaptan, smells a lot like rotten eggs.
When You Smell Natural Gas
If you detect natural gas, remember to “stop, leave, call”:
- Stop what you’re doing: Don't smoke or light a match. Don't open the windows. Don’t use anything that could cause a spark, like a phone, light switch, appliance or flashlight. Don’t start your car or use your garage door to leave.
- Leave the area: If you're inside, get out immediately. If you're outside, leave the area quickly.
- Call us and 911: From a safe location, away from the building, call 911 and our emergency number at 1-800-634-3524 and wait for crews to arrive. For more safety related information, visit NIPSCO.com/StaySafe.
