January 26, 2000

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - Primary Energy, Inc. subsidiary Portside Energy Corp. has earned ISO 14001 environmental certification. The achievement places Portside Energy among the first cogeneration facilities to achieve compliance with the rigorous international environmental management standards.

Since September1997, Portside has been providing approximately 90 percent of the electricity and all process steam and hot, softened water to National Steel's Midwest Operations in Portage, Ind.

Portside is the third NiSource Inc. subsidiary to achieve the ISO 14001 designation. Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) was the first and Northern Indiana Fuel & Light Co. (NIFL) was the second.

The ISO 14000 series of voluntary standards set forth tools and systems to help organizations improve management of environmental issues with the potential benefit of increased environmental performance.

"Installing a sound management system that enhances environmental performance is good business and is consistent with the NiSource Corporate Environmental Policy," said Arthur E. Smith Jr., NiSource Environmental officer and counsel.

"The development of an environmental management system has led to the generation of less waste, a significant increase in recycling efforts and a greater awareness of environmental responsibility among employees."

Certification to ISO 14001 requires a company's commitment to pollution prevention and regulatory compliance. It also defines best practices and establishes a foundation for the next level of improvement.

"This level of attention to environmental management isn't new to NiSource," said Gary Neale, NiSource chairman, president and chief executive officer. "All NiSource business activities seek proactive management opportunities to achieve and maintain environmental excellence. Clearly, ISO 14001 certification is a major step on that journey."

The achievement is the result of significant cooperation between NiSource Environmental Affairs, Primary Energy, Portside Energy Corp. and National Steel's Midwest Operations.

"It is clear that the work that we have chosen to take on voluntarily to ensure environmental performance improvements will become mandatory in the very near future," said Bob Blaesing, Environmental Affairs manager at National Steel.

"Our suppliers are starting to require ISO 14001 compliance as a stipulation of their contracts. And for us, it's just a normal part of the way we conduct business day in and day out."

ISO 14001 certification provides a broad range of benefits in practically every aspect of business, including improved operational efficiencies, cost savings through recycling and overall enhanced environmental performance.

"We are proud of the fact that the teams that engineered, constructed and managed this project achieved all of their operational goals, while also making sure that our environmental goals were met," said Primary Energy President Joe Turner.

"The environmental commitments help to make sure that the relationships that were built with our customers and the community remain strong."

Portside Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Primary Energy Inc., supplies electrical and thermal energy to National Steel's Midwest Operations in Portage, Ind., along the shore of Lake Michigan. It is the sole source of process steam and hot softened water for the steel mill operations.

Primary Energy Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of NiSource Inc., invests in and manages projects that optimize energy productivity, while reducing operating costs for large, energy-intensive industrial and commercial complexes. Primary Energy specializes in on-site electric and steam-generating facilities and acts with strong customer focus to assure its customers' objectives are being met. Target markets include the steel, refining, chemical, food products and pulp and paper industries in North America. More information is available via the Internet at www.primaryenergy.com.

NiSource Inc. is a holding company whose primary business is the distribution of electricity, natural gas and water in the Midwest and Northeast United States. The company also markets utility services and customer-focused resource solutions along a corridor stretching from Texas to Maine. Further information may be accessed on the Internet at www.nisource.com.