MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - Northern Indiana Public Service Company's (NIPSCO) Economic Development department recently received five awards for its Economic Development Web site from two national economic development organizations.

Every year Mid-America Economic Development Council (MAEDC) invites several economic development organizations to participate in its Development Materials and Marketing for Results Awards Competition. The competition recognizes organizations that have developed targeted marketing strategies and tactics for competitive positioning.

NIPSCO received four awards from MAEDC; Superior, Best of Class, Best of State, and Best of Show. The awards were given based on the Web site's functionality, visual impact, research, completeness and other criteria.

The American Chamber of Commerce Research Association (ACCRA), a non-profit organization representing community and economic development research analysis, awarded NIPSCO and its local partners the highest honors for their collaborative effort on the NIPSCO Economic Development Web site.

NIPSCO's Economic Development Web site has been active for over a year and produces thousands of dynamically built pages of information concerning the economic development of the communities in NIPSCO's service territory. Community partners provide "real-time" information by keeping their own local data up-to-date via a direct, on-line link system. The data on NIPSCO's Economic Development Web site is then shared by the communities, saving duplication in site development and maintenance.

"Having this partnership with NIPSCO puts a lot of power behind our economic development functions," said Jim Staton, president, Jasper County Industrial Foundation. "Our organization works on a small budget, but having access to the world has given us more opportunities and saved us time and money."

"The Web site is a great tool for northern Indiana to attract and retain businesses," said Randy Jacobs, director, NIPSCO Economic Development. "Prospective businesses and local businesses are able to obtain key information in a matter of seconds."

To find out more information about NIPSCO's Economic Development Web site, please contact Randy Jacobs at (800) 262-6477 or visit the Web site at www.nipsco.nisource.com/econdev.

Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), a subsidiary of NiSource Inc., is a regulated utility that provides natural gas to nearly 700,000 customers and electricity to 416,000 customers across the northern third of Indiana. NIPSCO is the largest natural gas distribution company and the second largest electric distribution company in the state of Indiana. Information about NiSource Inc. and its subsidiaries is available via the Internet at www.nisource.com.