To the Editor:
In a full page ad  addressed “Dear valued NIPSCO customer,”  a vice president with the most expensive electric utility in Indiana spoke to the numerous electric outages its customers  recently suffered.
“The employees of NIPSCO want to thank you, our customers, for your patience and understanding during the past several weeks,” the ad states, striking a tone which suggests that staff from NIPSCO CEO Gary Neale down is of one accord in it’s contrition over the disorder wrought by the outages.
The 1997 report, NIPSCO: Milking the Cash Cow, paints a different picture. The United Steelworkers of America who represent NIPSCO’s unionized workforce report in this document that, although NIPSCO customers pay electric rates 51 percent above the state average, “staffing and maintenance expenditures have sharply declined, reducing the level and reliability of NIPSCO’s customer service.”
“Between 1992 and 1996, NIPSCO’s total workforce shrunk from 4,529 to 3,562 - a 21.4 percent drop,”  the report states. Combined with an increase in the number of NIPSCO customers,  the report says this means the number of customers per employee increased 42.8 percent.
The Steelworkers also state that, while NIPSCO’s revenues increased 13 percent from 1992 to 1996, maintenance expenditures declined from $84.6 million to $70 million. This equals a 17.3 percent overall drop in maintenance expenses and - as a percentage of revenues - 25.9 percent.
On Jan. 27 the Citizens Action Coalition and ten NIPSCO ratepayers filed a complaint with state regulators. CAC believes this will show NIPSCO is using revenues from electric customers to finance speculative investments, and will ultimately result in NIPSCO being forced to lower electric rates.
Other NIPSCO customers have the opportunity to become a party to this action by signing what is known as a “joinder,” copies of which may be obtained by calling CAC at (219) 423-4492.
Sincerely,
Dave Menzer, Utilities Campaign Organizer
Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

NOTE:
CAC supporters who want copies of the NIPSCO joinder may call any of the following offices:
Fort Wayne: (219) 423-4492
South Bend: (219) 232-7905
Indianapolis: (800) 201-1210

More on NIPSCO
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Coalition Launches Legal Campaign To Lower Rates 

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