NIPSCO
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For those who aren't familiar with the acronym, it stands for Northern Indiana Public Service. They've been in the news around here lately because NIPSCO customers have seen their rates skyrocket.
Last fall, NIPSCO warned customers their winter bills may go up by 16%. But some customers say the increase is higher than that, and now they are forced to make choices on what bills to pay this month.
Candles are lit. Lights are off. The fire is going all day. The thermostat is never above 67 degrees. Despite these cost savings measures, Terry and Ron Achterhof cannot afford this month's bill from Northern Indiana Public Service Company.
"We don't live beyond our means. We live comfortable; he has worked his whole life, now this," Terry Achterhof said.
Their NIPSCO bill skyrocketed this month.
"I screamed my lungs out; it was $1,447 for one month, one month," Achterhof said.
Terry Achterhof says her bill started at $320 last spring and went up to $523 in June. Last month, it rose to $877 and now $1,447. Her husband has diabetes and other health issues. His medication costs hundreds of dollars a month. The big NIPSCO bill has put the retired Chesterton couple in a position where they must make choices.
When the world wearies and society ceases to satisfy, there is always the garden - Minnie Aumônier
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Then there's the natural gas part of NIPSCO's business.
The IURC opened an investigation into NIPSCO in November 2025. At the time, regulators said NIPSCO found an issue with “a not-insignificant number of its natural gas meters.”
The problem stems from new technology being installed on 870,000 natural gas meters across northern Indiana, designed to allow NIPSCO to get gas readings without meter readers having to drive around.
The IURC said NIPSCO found the error and provided bill credits but didn’t tell customers there was an issue.
In December, NIPSCO told 21Alive that safety and accurate billing are its top priorities. The utility said the issue was discovered as it rolled out “automated metering infrastructure” but it wasn’t caused by the new smart meter technology.
https://www.21alivenews.com/2026/01/30/state-regulators-continue-nipsco-gas-meter-investigation/
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Meanwhile...
This Insight highlights an Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) docket (46322) in which Amazon and a regulated utility, Northern Indiana Public Service (NIPSCO), are speedily developing generation to meet Amazon’s data center-related demand. This docket is unique in that:
It offers a template for how a utility, a tech company, and a state commission can remove impediments to quickly serving megaload customers and insulate other customers from risks associated with that service.
The IURC has willingly waived some of its jurisdictional authority.
The 2,400 MW in Amazon data center capacity is among the largest contracted capacity commitments between a utility and a data-center customer in the nation.
https://insight.factset.com/nipsco-proposes-special-contract-for-amazon-data-centers-in-indiana
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For those who aren't familiar with the acronym, it stands for Northern Indiana Public Service. They've been in the news around here lately because NIPSCO customers have seen their rates skyrocket.
Last fall, NIPSCO warned customers their winter bills may go up by 16%. But some customers say the increase is higher than that, and now they are forced to make choices on what bills to pay this month.
Candles are lit. Lights are off. The fire is going all day. The thermostat is never above 67 degrees. Despite these cost savings measures, Terry and Ron Achterhof cannot afford this month's bill from Northern Indiana Public Service Company.
"We don't live beyond our means. We live comfortable; he has worked his whole life, now this," Terry Achterhof said.
Their NIPSCO bill skyrocketed this month.
"I screamed my lungs out; it was $1,447 for one month, one month," Achterhof said.
Terry Achterhof says her bill started at $320 last spring and went up to $523 in June. Last month, it rose to $877 and now $1,447. Her husband has diabetes and other health issues. His medication costs hundreds of dollars a month. The big NIPSCO bill has put the retired Chesterton couple in a position where they must make choices.
