Manufacturing News
November 11, 2026
November 11, 2026 · Statewide · Story 4 of 5
NIPSCO Settlements Cut Gas Efficiency Programs for 800,000 Customers
NIPSCO and the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor filed two settlements on October 30. One resolves a gas meter double-charging case the utility didn't disclose until November 2025, with Citizens Action Coalition saying more than 6,817 customers were overcharged, possibly going back to the 1970s. NIPSCO agreed to refund 2.5 years of overcharges. The second settlement caps NIPSCO's gas efficiency spending at $2.83 million a year, down from the $13 million NIPSCO requested, eliminating programs for more than 800,000 gas customers except low-income weatherization starting January 1, 2027. CAC's Ben Inskeep called both deals "really terrible bargains."
These settlements land right after the IURC denied NIPSCO's $741 million gas infrastructure plan in August. Meanwhile parent company NiSource is telling investors it expects 10-11% annual earnings growth through 2033, anchored by agreements with Amazon and Microsoft data centers. Residential efficiency support is being cut back almost overnight while hyperscale customers are courted with long-term agreements.
- Impact
- These settlements land right after the IURC denied NIPSCO's $741 million gas TDSIC infrastructure plan in August 2026, meaning gas distribution modernization in the same 32 counties hit by the meter defect is now stalled on both the capital and efficiency fronts. Meanwhile NiSource is telling investors it's pursuing 10-11% annual EPS growth through 2033 anchored by Amazon and Microsoft data center agreements, a tension over whether hyperscale customers are getting priority while residential gas customers lose their efficiency support almost overnight.
- Watch
- CAC's formal testimony opposing both settlements, due in January 2027, with an IURC ruling expected later next year.
- For the huddle
With NIPSCO dismantling gas efficiency programs for over 800,000 customers while courting hyperscale data center load, are our facility's own efficiency rebates or audits at risk of being first in line for cuts as the utility reallocates toward large industrial accounts?
If your plant sits in NIPSCO territory and relies on efficiency incentives, assume those programs are first in line for further cuts and get your current rebate or audit arrangements confirmed in writing before January 1, 2027.
Sources
- Citizens Action Coalition raises concerns with NIPSCO gas settlements · chicagotribune.com
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