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NIPSCO Customers Protest Against Proposed Rate Hikes

Annacaroline Caruso

About 30 people gathered in Michigan City’s Pullman Park Thursday night to protest a proposal by the Northern Indiana Public Service Company. 

NIPSCO plans to cut electric bill rates for it’s five large industrial customers and raise costs for residential consumers.

A group of Michigan City residents and city officials are protesting a proposed seven percent rate hike from NIPSCO.

The company says the money will be used to transition away from coal and toward cleaner sources.

La’Tonya Troutman is with the LaPorte County N-double-A-C-P. She said if NIPSCO follows through with their plan, low-income customers will have to pull money from other areas of their budget to be able to pay their bill.

“A lot of us, especially for me, the NIPSCO is almost equivalent to rent or mortgage and so sometimes it becomes a choice. Do I pay my NIPSCO bill or do I get food for my kids," Troutman said.

The protesters say the proposal is unfair because they will have to pick up the cost from wealthy corporations. NIPSCO says they need the industrial customers to continue to buy from them or all rates will go up more.