FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2004

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Julia Van De Water, Manager NIPSCO Communications (574) 284-2151

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) held its annual Safety Awards Banquet Wednesday evening in Valparaiso, Ind. Employees in nine departments were recognized for maintaining their exceptional safety record or significantly improving their safety performance over last year. Awards were distributed to operating and office departments.

“Safety has always been a primary focus for NIPSCO. These departments and employees have worked hard to maintain and even improve their safety performance over last year,” said Mark Maassel, NIPSCO president. “Their efforts serve as an example of the importance safety plays in the workplace and in meeting our overall safety goals.”

Awards were distributed based on an established departmental Safety Plan, as well as improvements in preventable auto accident rates, lost time injury rates, and injury incident rates.

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.