IURC Must Hold NIPSCO Accountable for Overcharging Thousands of Gas Customers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 4, 2026

Contact:

Ben Inskeep, Program Director (317) 735-7741, binskeep@citact.org 

Kerwin Olson, Executive Director (317) 735-7727, kolson@citact.org

INDIANAPOLIS — Citizens Action Coalition (“CAC”) filed direct testimony yesterday in NIPSCO’s Gas Meter Investigation, urging the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (“IURC”) to require that NIPSCO provide full refunds, plus 8% interest, to customers who were double-charged for gas usage for a period potentially spanning decades. In addition to requiring that NIPSCO provide full refunds plus interest, CAC also called on the IURC to prevent the utility from passing on all costs related to addressing its legacy gas meter problem, reduce NIPSCO’s authorized profit margin, and establish enhanced reporting requirements.

CAC’s shocking findings described in testimony include:

• More than 4,000 gas customers have been double charged for gas usage due to an issue with their legacy gas meters, and potentially thousands more customers not yet identified could be affected.  

• The issue with the affected legacy gas meters could date back to their original manufacturing or installation going back to the early 1970s. 

• Some affected NIPSCO customers previously raised concerns about high bills and had a meter accuracy test performed, yet NIPSCO’s meter testing failed to detect the problem.  

• NIPSCO has refunded affected customers for only 12 months of overcharges even though the overcharges for some customers could have been ongoing for more than 50 years.  

• NIPSCO inappropriately labeled partial refunds on customer bills as a “policy adjustment” without further explanation, concealing the problem from customers and leading to confusion. 

• NIPSCO says it discovered the problem in October 2024, yet it didn’t inform the IURC until September 2025 and affected customers and the public until March 2026.

“NIPSCO’s prolonged metering failure, decision to conceal it from customers and the public, and refusal to fully refund customers for its mistake is the latest example of its abysmal service and disregard for affordability,” said CAC Program Director Ben Inskeep, who sponsored CAC’s testimony in the investigation. “NIPSCO’s repeated failures and egregious management decisions demand a strong rebuke from the IURC, and customers who have been overcharged deserve full and fair restitution.”

_______________________________________________

CAC’s testimony is available upon request or can be accessed through IURC Cause No. 46329.