After residents have expressed concerns with high utility bills this winter, the Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC — or NIPSCO — is offering help.
However, Kevin Mejia, who has helped organize NIPSCO protests in Northwest Indiana, believes it’s too little too late.
“There are four months of usage that customers are going to feel the most,” Mejia said. “We’ve already gone through three of the four months, and now they want to do something at the end of the season, and I think it’s an insult.”
On Monday, NIPSCO announced temporary support measures for customers, including waived late and reconnect fees, paused service disconnections for nonpayment and reduced reconnect deposits for gas customers. The support is available through March 31, according to the utility’s news release.
“These temporary support measures complement existing assistance and billing options available to NIPSCO customers,” Vince Parisi, NIPSCO president and COO, said in a news release. “Every customer’s situation is unique, and our teams are here to help customers review their bills, answer questions and explore available support options.”
According to the news release, NIPSCO’s assistance is for residential customers and will help manage winter bills. The bill support comes after recent “extreme weather,” according to NIPSCO, which “has been especially challenging for many.”
NIPSCO held a series of community meetings to hear customers’ concerns about high bills in LaPorte, Valparaiso and Merrillville, but they were closed to the media, who were only allowed to interview customers outside the venues.
On Tuesday, Mejia said NIPSCO’s action shows that the utility is noticing residents’ concerns. Mejia has helped organize multiple NIPSCO protests at its Hammond office and Merrillville headquarters that were mainly concerned with high gas delivery charges.
“That’s one thing I want to keep bringing awareness to,” he said. “I don’t want our elderly and our disabled population to be left out there to die without any assistance.”
Mejia said the majority of Northwest Indiana residents he’s talked to have the same reaction to NIPSCO’s announcement.
“People are still struggling,” he added. “People are in fear that they and their family are going to have their power cut off. There’s a lot of people who are barely making it by in this economy, and it’s been very, very sad for sure.”
NIPSCO’s announcement comes less than one week after the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission announced that it’s conducting an investigative inquiry into the state’s energy affordability. NIPSCO will be one of five utilities included in the March 24 inquiry.
As part of the inquiry, the five utilities will present on various topics, including how usage and rates lead to bills, the impact of growth on accountability, and short term steps that can increase bill transparency and rising energy costs, according to the IURC. The inquiry will be from 8:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the PNC Center in Indianapolis, and it will be streamed on the IURC’s website, according to Post-Tribune archives.
A NIPSCO spokesperson previously told the Post-Tribune that the utility is committed to cooperating with the commission. NIPSCO doesn’t set or raise utility prices on its own, and the company files rates with the IURC, according to Post-Tribune archives.
Last year, the IURC approved a 16.75% rate increase for residential customers, an increase of about $23 per month, according to Post-Tribune archives.
