Start your Green PathSM journey
Green PathSM, our voluntary program, supplements your natural gas usage with a combination of renewable natural gas (RNG) attributes and carbon offsets1 to allow you to effectively offset the carbon emissions of your natural gas usage.
If you choose to enroll, an additional cost of $0.225 per therm will be added as a new line item to your billing statement, based on your selected participation level. Your selected participation level is the percentage of your monthly natural gas therm usage that you designate to participate in the Green PathSM program.
Steps to sign up for Green PathSM
- Click Enroll in Green Path button above.
- Log into your account. If you don't have an account, it is easy to set up.
- Click on Green Path on the left-side navigation.
- Click on the Enroll button.
- Confirm your service account address and account number.
- Select the usage level you want to participate in: 25%, 50% or 100%
- Check the box to agree to the terms and conditions.
- Click Enroll and you are signed up.
Enroll in Green Path 1 2
1 Carbon offsets that we purchase for NIPSCO are on a global scale and will be registered, recognized, and retired by such registries as Verra; Climate Action Reserve; American Carbon Registry; UN CDP; or The Gold Standard. M-RETS®, a non-profit organization that utilizes a web-based system, tracks and confirms the RNG attributes we acquire.2 The Rider is available to:
(a) Residential and non-residential general service customers who receive service under Rate 311, Rate 315, Rate 321 and Rate 325, and
(b) Customers who are current on their natural gas bill and have no past due balance
The rider is not available to CHOICE, Gas Universal Service, Dependabill or Price Protection Service (“PPS”) customers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does RNG cost more than conventional natural gas? Is the cost variable?
RNG currently costs more than conventional natural gas because of the cost to build new infrastructure to capture and produce it and the cost for energy credits for producers. Although RNG currently costs more than conventional natural gas, the cost is lower than many other options that are available to reduce emissions. NIPSCO will update the Green Path Rider rate annually effective January 1 each calendar year. Enrolled customers will be notified of new rates before the new rate takes effect.
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How can I estimate the additional cost of enrolling in Green Path? Where will the cost be shown on my bill?
The additional cost will be based on the rate that corresponds with the offset option you use multiplied by your monthly usage. The Green Path rider will be shown as a separate line item on your bill.
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How long do I have to be enrolled?
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What are RNG Environmental Attributes?
RNG Environmental Attributes are a way to track the environmental qualities of RNG to ensure that who is paying for the RNG receives the environmental benefits. Once the RNG is in the pipelines, it mixes with other gas molecules. Using the RNG Environmental Attributes makes sure that NIPSCO is providing RNG that has been tracked and the environmental benefits are delivered to our customers.
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Why is NIPSCO interested in offering the Green Path Program? Is NIPSCO looking at options beyond RNG (Renewable Natural Gas) to reduce emissions?
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How does RNG help farmers?
The production of RNG not only helps farmers with efficiently managing naturally occurring waste from the farms (e.g., animal manure), but it also creates a new source of revenue from the sale of the RNG. While RNG is not exclusively useful to farmers, the benefits of renewable natural gas are uniquely geared to benefit their economic futures, our nation’s domestic food sources and farming communities.
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Do customers or NIPSCO get tax credits from Green Path? Does NIPSCO make money from the Green Path program?
Neither the customer nor NIPSCO will receive tax credits from the Green PathSM program. The costs of the RNG (Renewable Natural Gas) and carbon offsets are directly charged to the enrolled customers with no profit to NIPSCO.
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What are carbon offsets? How are carbon offsets verified?
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Where do the verified carbon offsets and RNG environmental attributes for Green Path service come from?
Please see below for details on the retired verified carbon offsets and RNG environmental attributes by month:
Month | Number of VCOs Retired & Location | Number of Renewable Thermal Certificates Retired & Location |
October 2023 | 3, India | 3, New York |
November 2023 | 9, India | 9, New York |
December 2023 | 25, India | 25, New York |
January 2024 | 44, India | 43, New York |
February 2024 | 37, India | 37, New York |
March 2024 | 26, India | 26, New York |
April 2024 | 19, India | 19, New York |
May 2024 | 8, India | 8, New York |
June 2024 | 6, India | 6, New York |
July 2024 | 5, India | 5, New York |
August 2024 | 5, India | 5, New York |
September 2024 | 5, India | 5, New York |
October 2024 | 7, India | 7, New York |
November 2024 | 17, China | 16, New York |
| December 2024 | 53, China | 53, New York |
January 2025 | 90, China | 89, New York |
February 2025 | 77, China | 76, New York |
March 2025 | 54, China | 53, New York |
April 2025 | 23, China | 23, New York |
*Verified Carbon Offsets: Represent the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent and has received certification by one of the specified host registries to meet five criteria: real, additional, verifiable, enforceable, and permanent.
Renewable Thermal Certificates: Represent the equivalent of the separated, or unbundled, Environmental Attributes associated with one dekatherm of RNG. RTCs are listed and retired on the Midwest Renewable Energy Transaction System (M-RETS).
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What is Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) and how is it different than conventional natural gas? How does RNG help me reduce my carbon footprint?
RNG comes from organic sources which once absorbed carbon dioxide. RNG is produced from organic waste that would otherwise decay and emit methane emissions into the atmosphere. Learn more about the benefits of RNG and methane reductions on the US EPA's website and in the document, An Overview of Renewable Natural Gas from Biogas.
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Green Path Cost Calculator 3
See more estimated monthly cost examples
Examples of the estimated monthly cost based on your choices
The participation level you select allows you to match your entire monthly natural usage with renewable natural gas using the 100% level, and you also have the option to match only 50% or 25% of your monthly usage.
The additional cost is calculated by adding 22.5 cents ($0.225) per Therm of natural gas used to your monthly bill multiplied by your participation level.
100% Participation Level2
Example: If you are enrolled in the 100% Participation Level and use 100 Therms per month, you can expect to pay $22.50 more per month for Green Path. How it’s calculated:
100 Therms used x 100% participation level = 100 Therms applied to Green Path
100 Green Path Therms x $0.225 = $22.50 per month for Green Path
50% Participation Level2
Example: If you are enrolled in the 50% Participation Level and use 100 Therms per month, you can expect to pay $11.25 more per month for Green Path. How it’s calculated:
100 Therms used x 50% participation level = 50 Therms applied to Green Path
50 Green Path Therms x $0.225 = $11.25 per month for Green Path
25% Participation Level2
Example: If you are enrolled in the 25% Participation Level and use 100 Therms per month, you can expect to pay $5.63 more per month for Green Path (25 Therms x $0.225). How it’s calculated:
100 Therms used x 25% participation level = 25 Therms applied to Green Path
25 Green Path Therms x $0.225 = $5.63 per month for Green Path
2 Actual cost will be calculated by NIPSCO and will vary from month to month according to your actual electricity natural gas use.