FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 23, 2001

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT
Julia Van De Water
NIPSCO Communications Manager
(219) 647-6375

 

NIPSCO ENCOURAGES CUSTOMERS TO PREPARE FOR STORM SEASON
Company Provides Easy-to-Follow Hints and Safety Tips

MERRILLVILLE-Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) is reminding customers that spring storm season begins soon. As a result, NIPSCO is encouraging preparation and some simple safety tips to help lessen the customer impact of storm damage to NIPSCO's electric system.

"We restore power in the safest, most efficient and timely manner possible, but realize that any significant time without electricity can be an inconvenience to our customers," said Robert Schacht, NIPSCO vice president and chief operating officer. "We suggest that customers follow some basic preparedness tips to make power outages, if they occur, more manageable."

  1. Be informed-know what type of weather is expected for your area.

  2. Prepare an emergency first-aid kit with essential medicines and other special items, including a supply of non-perishable food and water, a non-electric (manual) can opener and various-sized candles with matches.

  3. Make prior arrangements for a back-up power supply if someone in your family requires life-support equipment.

  4. Call NIPSCO immediately if downed power lines occur on your property or in your neighborhood. Do not approach the downed line(s). Keep children and others away from the downed line(s) for their safety.

  5. If you own a corded or cellular phone, or know of a neighbor with one, call NIPSCO. While rotary phones will work during a power outage, cordless phones do not. Be careful not to assume that because you are without power that all your neighbors are too. NIPSCO experts use outage information and phone calls to track and patrol power lines and equipment. Our crews can identify a specific area that may have been affected by adverse weather. For example, reports of electrical outages within a specific neighborhood may indicate where a line was downed due to a large tree limb and/or strong winds.

  6. Ensure that flashlights, portable radios and a wind-up or battery-operated alarm clock are readily accessible and that batteries are fully charged and ready for use. If candles are used, be sure to monitor them closely. Never leave candles burning unattended and/or within the reach of young children. Extinguish every burning candle before leaving your home.

  7. Conserve refrigeration. Refrain from repeatedly opening refrigerator and/or freezer doors. Cool air escapes every time the door is opened and the contents inside are more susceptible to spoilage.

Schacht suggested that customers who lose power first check their home's circuit breaker or fuse box. In some cases power outages may be attributed to a blown circuit breaker or fuse. If power is not restored after resetting the breaker or replacing the blown fuse, customers should contact NIPSCO.

Schacht also indicated that every utility follows basic principles when restoring power during storm outages with priority going to the lines that will get the most customers back in service the quickest.

"Our customer service center is available 24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week," said Schacht. "Customers can report outage information through our Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system or to one of our qualified customer service representatives (CSRs)."

During severe weather, however, NIPSCO's Customer Service Center is often inundated with calls.

"Our CSRs become very busy handling many calls during inclement weather conditions and severe storms," said Schacht. "We want to assist our customers as quickly as possible. If a customer feels as though they must speak directly to one of our CSRs rather than utilizing our IVR system, we ask for their patience during storm outages."

NIPSCO, with headquarters in Merrillville, Ind., is one of the 10 energy distribution companies of NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI). With approximately 700,000 natural gas customers and 430,000 electric 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. NiSource distribution companies serve 3.6 million natural gas and electric customers primarily in nine states. More information about NIPSCO is available at www.nipsco.com.