NIPSCO's next five years will be dominated by its $1.9 billion, seven-year modernization plan already underway, which will result in increased reliability and create thousands of jobs across northern Indiana.
The utility was the first in the state to ask regulators' permission to undertake a modernization plan, under landmark legislation passed by the Indiana General Assembly in 2013.
"We were eager to get get started, because a number of these projects will deliver direct benefits to our customers," NIPSCO spokesman Nick Meyer said.
About $700 million of the spending will be used to update and expand NIPSCO's extensive natural gas transmission and delivery system, which currently serves 821,000 customers. Upgrades include replacement of the remaining bare steel pipe, 80 miles of new transmission pipes and valves, and extending new lines to rural customers.
In the wake of last winter's propane shortages and skyrocketing prices, extending natural gas lines to rural areas has taken on even more urgency, Meyer said.
NIPSCO's electric system serving 468,000 customers is in for even more upgrades. The utility will be spending $1.2 billion to install improvements such as replacing 450 miles of underground cable, 500 miles of electric lines and circuits, and 75 substation transformers.
Both projects will wind up in 2020. NIPSCO was also able to announce recently the projected bill increases that will pay for the upgrades were being pared back.
Indiana employment attributable to just the electric modernization project will peak at about 1,900 jobs in 2019, according to engineering studies prepared for NIPSCO. The utility estimates more than 1,000 construction workers could be in the field working by that time.
In a longer-term integrated resource plan filed with state regulators, NIPSCO electric has outlined $10 billion total in investments in its generation, transmission and delivery systems.
"These investments are being made right here in Indiana, helping to create local jobs and providing a platform for continued economic growth within the communities we serve," stated NIPSCO CEO Jim Stanley in a letter attached to that report.
That spending includes more than $800 million in pollution control equipment being installed at its R.M. Schahfer and Michigan electric generation plants.
NIPSCO is also undertaking the construction of two high-voltage lines through the heart of the state. Those projecst will cost between $300 and $400 million. Such high voltage lines are expanding the reach of renewable energy projects nationwide.
The energy needs of the region and the nation are also being addressed by other companies.
The future of the BP Whiting Refinery, built in 1889 by John Rockefeller, was secured in 2013 with the completion of its $4.8 billion expansion project.
That project allows the refinery to handle heavier crude oils from the Dakotas and Canada, which have proven key in America's drive toward energy self reliance.
About $1 billion of the total $4.2 billion in spending went into environmental improvements to better treat waste water, reduce air pollution, and remove sulfur from gasoline and diesel fuel.
About 1,900 people work at the refinery, which is capable of producing 19 million gallons of gasoline, diesel fuel and other refined products per day.
America's thirst for crude oil from domestic producers is also driving the expansion and upgrade of Enbridge Energy Partners' pipelines and terminals in Northwest Indiana.
The $1.6 billion, 210 mile 6B pipeline replacement is already complete through Northwest Indiana. Line 78 between Pontiac, Ill., and Schererville is also being reconstructed. The increased flows through both those pipelines in turn is driving $250 million in improvements at Enbridge terminals in Griffith and Schererville.