NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) announced the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) has approved key agreements supporting the company’s previously announced partnership with Amazon to serve new data center development in northern Indiana. This marks an inaugural milestone that reinforces the meaningful benefits this approach will provide for existing customers.
On June 17, the IURC fully approved the settlement agreement, Amazon special contract and related power purchase agreement. In a separate order, the Commission also approved the company’s proposed generation resources, including combined-cycle gas turbines and battery energy storage systems.
The approvals advance NiSource’s strategy to support responsible large-load growth while helping protect existing customers from the costs of serving new data center demand.
Under the approved framework, existing customers are expected to benefit directly from the addition of new, large electric load, with NiSource’s broader data center strategy expected to provide approximately $1.4 billion in customer savings. The structure is designed so that data center customers fund the generation and transmission infrastructure required to serve their needs, supporting affordability, reliability and long-term value for existing NIPSCO customers.
“As part of the settlement,” the release said, “the parties agreed to support expedited procedural schedules for future agreements, reinforcing the model’s competitive speed-to-market advantage and positioning Indiana as a leader in utility and technology collaboration.”
NI shares slid 64 cents, or 1.3%, to $47.00.
