Why Modernizing NIPSCO Matters for Northern Indiana Customers

At NIPSCO, we are modernizing how we operate so we can better serve Northern Indiana customers, support good local jobs, and deliver safe, reliable energy for decades to come.

That work includes participating in routine contract negotiations and introducing an industry‑first approach to powering data centers designed to return approximately $1 billion in savings to our customers, while launching a multi‑year plan to invest in NIPSCO’s system and Northern Indiana’s future.

Our vision is straightforward: to build a stronger, safer utility that can meet growing energy needs at a cost customers can manage.

Across the country, and here in Northern Indiana, utilities are facing rising energy demand, new technologies, and more frequent severe weather. Keeping the lights on takes ongoing investment in power plants, wind and solar farms, and miles of maintained gas pipelines and electric lines to safely serve communities and support local tax bases. To remain dependable and affordable, we must evolve. At NIPSCO, we see real opportunities to modernize how work gets done. That means improving safety and reliability, upgrading customer service, and operating more efficiently, without losing sight of affordability. These goals are within reach by applying straightforward solutions, better tools and proven practices used across the industry.

To meet these challenges safely and responsibly, we must update some long‑standing operating practices that were designed for a different era. Like many utilities have already done, we must evolve to meet our current challenges and future needs. As expectations around safety, responsiveness and reliability have changed, so too must the way work gets done.

These conversations are happening through our routine collective bargaining process with the United Steelworkers, and we approach them with respect. Our employees are essential to everything we do. They are the frontline teams who respond during storms, work in challenging conditions, and help ensure our customers can rely on essential services every day.

Our goal is simple: to ensure crews can respond safely, restore service as quickly as possible when customers need us the most, and prepare our workforce for the future.

As part of these discussions, we are proposing practical changes to improve flexibility, efficiency, and accountability. For example, we are proposing limits on extremely long shifts, implementing response requirements and greater flexibility to bring in additional crews during emergencies.

We care deeply about our employees, the frontline teams who put in long hours to get the job done. That’s why we’ve consistently rewarded them ahead of industry peers. Today, NIPSCO line workers are among the highest paid in Indiana as a reflection of the skill, risk and responsibility the job requires. We remain committed to rewarding that work fairly while also balancing the need to keep service affordable for customers.

For many of our customers, reliable energy is not an abstract concept, it is what keeps homes warm in winter, businesses open and first responders connected when conditions are at their toughest. Modernizing how we operate is not about change for its own sake. Instead, it is about being ready for the next winter storm, the next power outage, gas-related emergency, and the next generation of growth in Northern Indiana. If we get this right, customers will benefit from safer practices, faster storm restoration and an energy system that is ready for the future without losing sight of affordability.