Residential and business customers of Merrillville-base NIPSCO will see higher natural gas bills Oct. 1.
The company said Sept. 20 the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved the company’s request to modify its natural gas rates. NIPSCO electric rates are not affected.
“Maintaining affordable energy costs for customers is essential,” said Violet Sistovaris, NIPSCO president. “This balanced outcome allows us to continue to improve service and provides a platform for continued investments in public safety and other programs to better serve customers now and into the future.”
NIPSCO said the approved rates will be phased in over a two-year period. The average residential customer will see their natural gas bills increase $8 per month, which is lower than the $10 requested by the utility. About $3 of the increase will go to the fixed monthly customer charge, which will increase from $11 to $14, which also is lower than initially proposed by NIPSCO.
The decision follows an extensive regulatory review and public input process and is based on a collaborative agreement reached earlier in the year with the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor, industrial customers and the NIPSCO Gas Supplier Group.
NIPSCO said the new rates also account for the lower tax rate associated with the federal tax reform.
The company said the change for individual commercial and industrial customers will vary depending on usage patterns, but on average, rates for overall commercial and smaller industrial customers will also increase less than the original proposal.
It has been more than 25 years since NIPSCO’s base natural gas rates have increased, and in 2010, a regulatory review led to a slight decrease. NIPSCO said it has repeatedly been the lowest-cost provider in Indiana — and among the lowest-cost providers in the nation — while improving service, reliability and safety to customers.
NIPSCO is based in Merrillville and serves about 810,000 natural gas and 460,000 electric customers across northern Indiana.
