Following a devastating derecho that ravaged Northwest Indiana and left hundreds of thousands without power for two weeks, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company filed documents that would raise electric bills for its customers.
NIPSCO filed one application on Aug. 11 — the day of the storms — and two more on Aug. 14 and Aug. 20, respectively, with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
Together, the totals would amount to a nearly $88 annual increase, or $7.33 a month per customer, and at least partially go into effect as soon as Nov. 1 if approved by state regulators, according to documents filed with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.
In a statement to the Sun-Times Tuesday, NIPSCO said it was “routine” for it to file the requests to recover costs for fuel, “regional transmission organization” and “resource adequacy and reliability," according to filings with the state. Its adjustment for fuel costs asks to “remain in place until replaced by a different fuel cost adjustment that is approved in a subsequent filing.” In Indiana, utilities can adjust rates biannually or quarterly for certain types of costs.
But advocates say the company is out of line, as two weeks after the area was stricken with flooding and 99 mph winds, about 100 customers still remained without power Tuesday evening. The total was down from more than 9,300 on Monday. Initially, nearly 60% of its 500,000 customers were without electricity as 335 damaged poles needed to be repaired or replaced and 27 substations required work.
Ben Inskeep, program director for Indiana utility watchdog Citizens Action Coalition, said while the filings are routine, the company has avenues to mitigate these costs in the process. He says they haven't.
"When costs are more than they budgeted for, they can push the cost onto consumers," Inskeep said. "It's something the utilities lobbied for years ago to reduce their shareholder risk. ... We've already seen these rate increases, so anything on top of that is adding to a really dire affordability crisis."
The requests come after a rate hike last year that saw average NIPSCO bills increase 16.75% in July 2025, or nearly $280 a year, which followed an increase in 2024. The Indiana utility regulation agency’s annual bill survey shows that in 2026, the average NIPSCO customer currently pays more than any other Indiana energy customer across all levels of use.
A recent class-action lawsuit representing several Northwest Indiana residents who were affected during the storm also alleges the utility didn’t protect its power lines from “hazardous trees and other vegetation” near power lines despite customer complaints.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun also called for an investigation into the utility company Monday to “determine whether NIPSCO did what it promised ratepayers and regulators it would do with the money it was given.” He directed the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor to file a complaint against NIPSCO with the very agency set to hear its case for increasing bills again.
“NIPSCO is a monopoly utility that Hoosiers pay every month with the expectation that it will use its considerable resources to maintain its system, prepare for severe weather and restore service as quickly as possible when disaster strikes,” Braun said in a statement Sunday. “NIPSCO has failed to keep its end of the bargain.”
The requests have yet to be ruled on by Indiana's utility board, and utility companies in Illinois have faced pushback for seeking to increase rates.
Earlier this year, Peoples Gas proposed a $202 million rate hike, which would bump gas bills by an average of $130 per year. But the Illinois attorney general’s office suggested a $4.1 million decrease instead, listing at least $97.2 million in “unsupported and unexplained” cost increases for the company’s pipe retirement program, among other “unsubstantiated” charges.
Inskeep said the NIPSCO filings are emblematic of a need for legislative change.
"I think what this illustrates is we need policy change at the state level," Inskeep said. "[NIPSCO] are following the process they've been doing for years, and it comes at this really terrible time. The general assembly needs to change the law that has enabled company's to establish these methods to recoup money for shareholders at the expense of ratepayers."
Clarification: The headline on an earlier version of this story mischaracterized the increase that NIPSCO is seeking. The utility company is seeking cost adjustments from the state related to service expenses. It is not seeking rate increases based on customer usage.
