FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 20, 2004

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Regina D. Biddings, Director NIPSCO Communications (219) 647-6388

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. --- Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) recently scored 100 percent on the East Central Area Reliability Council’s (ECAR) Control Area Compliance Review for meeting or exceeding industry reliability standards.

ECAR monitors reliability standards for 29 electricity suppliers in nine east-central states to ensure the reliable flow of wholesale power on the interstate transmission system.

Independent auditors awarded NIPSCO a perfect score after determining that the company’s planning and operational standards meet or exceed all criteria set by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC). The review commends NIPSCO for its dedication to reliable operations and for the professionalism of its personnel.

"A perfect score demonstrates one aspect of NIPSCO’s commitment to deliver safe and reliable energy service to our customers every day," said NIPSCO President Mark Maassel. "Taken together, the hard-working men and women at NIPSCO helped to ensure that the average NIPSCO customer had power available for 8,752 out of 8,760 hours last year."

Independent auditors from Power Decisions Consulting conducted ECAR’s compliance review by inspecting certain facilities and equipment at NIPSCO and evaluating its use of them. During the review, NIPSCO successfully demonstrated that its system operators and other personnel are familiar with operating policies, planning standards, and company procedures.

"NIPSCO should be complimented for their continued good performance and achievement," said an ECAR official. "NIPSCO has a very professional staff dedicated to reliable operation of the power system under NIPSCO control."

NIPSCO successfully completed the review on February 25 and 26 at its Electric Dispatch Control Center in Hammond, Indiana. The company has scored perfectly on both of its control area compliance reviews, which began in 2001 and are performed every three years.

Reliability experts reviewed NIPSCO’s policies and procedures on transmission security, emergency planning, and training, among other operational standards. Some planning standards reviewed include system performance, equipment, and the maintenance of NIPSCO’s generator and transmission protection systems.

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.