NIPSCO hits key mark on major expansion
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Merrillville-based gas and electric utility NIPSCO says it has reached the halfway point of a $370 million natural gas pipeline that is meant to spur economic development in Lake and Porter counties. Our partner, The Times of Northwest Indiana, reports the multiyear project will result in nearly 35 miles of new 24- and 30-inch steel pipelines that will support both industrial and residential customers.
NIPSCO, a subsidiary of NiSource Inc (NYSE: NI), says the project includes six gas facility rebuilds, a new interconnect station and three new customer gas facilities.
“We continue to work on these major projects to improve our infrastructure and meet our customers’ needs,” said NIPSCO President Mike Hooper. “This will bolster our supplies and bolster our values, particularly to our industrial customers that we all know and love by Lake Michigan.”
The 30-inch pipeline runs from NIPSCO’s Aetna substation north to the Gary Works steel mill and other large industrial customers and south to a station by Kouts in southern Porter County.
The new infrastructure will benefit existing customers because NIPSCO will be able to offer more competitively priced natural gas, NIPSCO told the publication.
“This allows additional price competition from the interstate pipelines that serve Indiana,” said NIPSCO Public Affairs and Economic Development Director Rick Calinski. “We have five that cross our system. But it will also allow us to expand our system as we see economic growth.”
It also can help facilitate new economic development that would bring more customers on board, increasing the pool and reducing the expense for everyone else.
Click here to access the Joseph S. Pete article from The Times of Northwest Indiana.