NIPSCO REMINDS CUSTOMERS: "KEEP SAFETY FIRST" DURING STORM SEASON

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2003

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Larry Graham, Manager
NIPSCO Communications & Community Relations
(260) 439-1330

NIPSCO Reminds Customers: "Keep Safety First" During Storm Season

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. - The spring and summer storm season has arrived. This can mean heavy rain, lightning and high winds, which can cause service interruptions. Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) is reminding customers of some simple safety tips to help reduce the impact of storm damage and service interruptions.

"We restore energy service in the safest, most efficient and timely manner possible, but realize that any service interruption is an inconvenience to our customers," said Jerry Godwin, NIPSCO vice president and chief operating officer. "We suggest that customers follow some basic preparedness tips to make service interruptions, should they occur, more manageable."

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

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 a manual source of light, such as glow sticks or flashlights.

Make prior arrangements for back-up energy service if someone in your family requires life-support equipment.

Ensure that flashlights, portable radios and a 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.

If your service is interrupted, call NIPSCO to report your outage. Some cordless phones will not operate during a power outage. It is important to maintain at least one corded phone or cellular phone in your home. NIPSCO experts use outage information to aid in locating and repairing service 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 the origin and location of the problem.

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.

Conserve refrigeration during service interruptions. 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.

NIPSCO also reminds customers that should the electric meter box and service wire entrance attached to your home be damaged in a storm, a qualified electrician will need to make repairs before NIPSCO can restore power. Damage to the meter box and service wire entrance can occur when a tree or large branch falls across the electric service wire between the utility pole and the house.

Godwin suggests 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 problem inside the home's breaker or fuse feeder boxes.

Every utility follows basic principles when restoring power during storm outages with priority going to the lines that will restore service to the most customers in the quickest time possible.

NIPSCO's customer service center is available 24-hours-a-day, 7 days a week. Customers can report outage information through our Integrated Voice Response (IVR) system or to a qualified customer service representative (CSR).

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 Godwin. "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 nearly 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 3.7 million natural gas and electric customers primarily in nine states. More information about NIPSCO is available at www.nipsco.com.