FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 28, 2004

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
 
Regina Biddings, Director
NIPSCO Communications
(219) 647-6388

NIPSCO Sponsors Arbor Day Events Across Northern Indiana

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. --- Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), a "Tree Line USA" utility, is celebrating Arbor Day by sponsoring several events throughout northern Indiana this week.

The National Arbor Day Foundation has honored NIPSCO as a "Tree Line US" utility for eleven years in a row. NIPSCO is the only investor-owned utility in Indiana having received the award.

"NIPSCO is committed to protecting our natural environment," said NIPSCO President Mark Maassel. "We work closely with a variety of organizations to develop sustainable solutions to environmental issues while maintaining our commitment to delivering safe and reliable energy service to our customers."

The following events are scheduled for this week:

April 29, 8:30 a.m.
Goshen Middle School
Goshen, Ind.
Sponsored by NIPSCO; NIPSCO will donate a commemorative plaque and plant a flowering Crabapple tree at Goshen Middle School.

April 29, 9:00 a.m.
St. Catherine's Hospital
East Chicago, Ind.
Sponsored by NIPSCO; NIPSCO will plant three new blocks of flowering Crabapple trees to replace existing trees on the east side of St. Catherine's Hospital.

April 29, 10:00 a.m.
Hammond Civic Center
Hammond, Ind.
NIPSCO and KHB Group will donate 500 seedlings to senior citizens during the annual Keep Hammond Beautiful Flower Bulb Giveaway.

April 29, 10:00 a.m.
Washington St. between Clay St. and Tipton St.
Brighton St. between Washington St. and Hind St.
LaPorte, Ind.
Joint Tree Replacement Project sponsored by NIPSCO and the City of LaPorte; NIPSCO will donate 55 'Cockspur' Thornless Hawthorn trees to the City of LaPorte and plant a tree with assistance from Asplundh Tree Experts.

April 29, 11:30 a.m.
Warsaw Christian School
Warsaw, Ind.
Sponsored by NIPSCO; NIPSCO will donate a 'Prairiefire' Crabapple tree to the Warsaw Christian School and plant it with the help of school students and the Asplundh Tree Experts Company. Each student will take home a tree seedling courtesy of NIPSCO.

April 30, 10:00 a.m.
Plymouth Fire Station
Plymouth, Ind.
Joint Arbor Day Celebration Sponsored by NIPSCO, Asplundh Tree Experts and the City of Plymouth; Two 'Autumn Blaze' Maples will be planted at the Plymouth Fire Station in memory of Fire Chief John Brown and fireman Lenny Retske.

April 30, 12:30 p.m.
Hendry Park Elementary School
Angola, Ind.
Sponsored by NIPSCO; NIPSCO will donate and plant four 'Crimson King' Norway Maples at Hendry Park Elementary School with assistance from Asplundh Tree Experts and school students. Each student will take home a Red Twig Dogwood seedling courtesy of NIPSCO.

April 30, 10:00 a.m.
Hanover Park
Cedar Lake, Ind.
Sponsored by NIPSCO & Davey Tree Company; Three 'Prairiefire' Crabapple trees will be donated and planted at Hanover Park.

April 30, 12:30 p.m.
Central Elementary School
Valparaiso, Ind.
Sponsored by NIPSCO and Asplundh Tree Experts; Two trees will be donated and planted at Central Elementary School. Students will assist with the planting.

NIPSCO has also scheduled Arbor Day events during the month of May at the following locations:

Munster Hospital
Munster, Ind.
Sponsored by NIPSCO; NIPSCO will promote "The Right Tree in the Right Place" by replacing existing trees with flowering Crabapple trees.

Washington Park
Michigan City, Ind.
Sponsored by NIPSCO; NIPSCO will host a banner designing contest for the community.

9th Street between Huron St. and Lincoln St.
Willard St. between 9th and 5th
Michigan City, Ind.
Joint Tree Replacement Project sponsored by NIPSCO and Michigan City; NIPSCO will donate 38 'wire friendly trees' to Michigan City.

NIPSCO encourages customers interested in planting trees to call 1-800-464-7726 for a free copy of the brochure, "Selecting the Right Tree, Choosing the Right Place" More information is available at www.nipsco.nisource.com/prodserv/forestry/index.asp.

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.