FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2003

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 
Don Babcock, Director
NIPSCO Marketing
(219) 647-4975

NIPSCO DependaBill Spring Campaign Sold Out

MERRILLVILLE, Ind.-Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) announced today that its newest program, DependaBill, has reached its enrollment cap of 4,000 customers prior to the July 31 spring campaign enrollment deadline. Eligible customers received a customized DependaBill quote in their June statement.

DependaBill is a guaranteed, fixed gas bill that is customized for each participating customer based on their historical natural gas usage and normal seasonal temperatures. Enrolled customers' fixed monthly payment will remain the same for the 12-month term of the program with no changes due to weather or gas prices.

"Customer response to our DependaBill program has been strong since its introduction late last year," said Don Babcock, director, NIPSCO Marketing. "The program reached maximum enrollment both last fall and this spring with a combined total of 6,000 customers. They have been extremely satisfied with the program," Babcock said.

Unlike the BudgetPlan, PPS, or NIPSCO Choice, DependaBill is a pre-determined, totally guaranteed annual gas bill that has no settle-up due at the end of the term. The DependaBill includes natural gas supply (commodity) costs, interstate pipeline transportation charges, delivery charges and a program fee. In addition, DependaBill customers will continue to have their meter read each month, or as often as possible.

"While enrollment in DependaBill is now closed, our customers still have options with alternative gas pricing offers such as NIPSCO Choice and Price Protection Service (PPS)," said Babcock.

Customers who are interested in DependaBill should watch their monthly NIPSCO statement for updates on the fall enrollment campaign.

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.