FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 24, 2004

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Larry Graham, Manager NIPSCO Communications (260) 439-1330

MERRILLVILLE, Ind. – In a report filed last week with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) reported that tree trimming along NIPSCO’s high-voltage transmission lines fully complies with the utility’s Integrated Vegetation Management guidelines.

In an order issued on April 19, 2004, FERC required electric utilities to report on their vegetation management programs regarding high-voltage (230KV and above) transmission lines. The FERC order noted that failure to adequately maintain vegetation within transmission rights-of-way has been identified as a major cause of the August 14, 2003, electric power blackout that affected many Midwest and Northeastern states, and is a common factor contributing to many previous regional outages.

NIPSCO has 21 high-voltage lines in its transmission system. In order to ensure reliability, NIPSCO conducts bi-annual aerial inspections and also ground inspections. The most recent inspection conducted between December 4, 2003, and January 16, 2004, found no tree clearance threshold violations.

“NIPSCO was pleased to report to FERC thresholds for tree clearances at every point along our high-voltage lines were met or exceeded,” said NIPSCO President Mark Maassel. “System reliability is an ongoing key objective at our company, and vegetation management is one way we work to ensure continuous electrical service for our customers.”

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.

The Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) is the state agency that represents the interests of all utility consumers and the public in matters related to the provision of utility services. The agency is active in proceedings before regulatory and legal bodies, and committed to giving consumers a voice in the creation of utility service policy. Consumers with questions or concerns regarding utility service can contact the OUCC toll-free at 1-888-441-2494 or on the World Wide Web at www.IN.gov/OUCC.