U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, D-Highland, wrote a letter Thursday to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Laura Swett asking for a “comprehensive federal review of the widespread and prolonged power outages” following Northwest Indiana’s Aug. 11 derecho.
Mrvan also requested that FERC work in coordination with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.
“The consequences of these prolonged outages were significant,” Mrvan wrote in his letter. “Families lost food, homes experienced flooding and subsequent mold growth, and residents lost access to essential medical equipment and prescription medications. For many constituents, the lack of electricity also meant the loss of reliable access to phones, computers, internet service, and other means of communicating with family members, reporting outages, and applying for emergency assistance.”
In the letter, Mrvan also acknowledged that peak wind gusts reached about 100 to 110 miles per hour across Lake and Porter counties, with nearly 375,000 Northern Indiana Public Service Company customers without power. Tens of thousands of customers — specifically in Gary, Portage and Lake Station — were without power for about two weeks.
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In an email Thursday, a NIPSCO representative said the electric utility declined to comment. In a previous statement to the Post-Tribune, a NIPSCO representative said the Aug. 11 derecho was “an unprecedented storm that caused extraordinary damage.”
“NIPSCO mobilized thousands of resources from 14 states in response and will participate in any and all government inquiries stemming from the event,” its previous statement said. “NIPSCO’s focus continues to be on ensuring all customers impacted by the storm are restored safely and reliably.”
In addition to Mrvan’s action, Gov. Mike Braun called for an Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission investigation into the utility. Mrvan addressed the state-level investigation in his letter, saying he strongly supports it, but he believes a federal review is warranted.
“I respectfully request a joint FERC-NERC investigation to assess what contributed to the prolonged outages and determine whether NIPSCO’s preparation, system performance, and restoration efforts were consistent with applicable reliability requirements and best practices,” Mrvan wrote in his letter. “I also request that the findings include recommendations to improve electric-grid reliability and storm resilience.”
Mrvan also asked for the investigation to examine where NIPSCO and its parent company NiSource complied with federal reliability standards and “whether any deficiencies in reliability planning, system resilience, or emergency response warrant federal action.”
The congressman wants FERC to look at NIPSCO and NiSource’s storm preparedness, grid resilience and system design, vegetation management and maintenance, restoration performance, regional comparison and infrastructure investments.
He also addressed NIPSCO rate increases, which Mrvan said the company has said are necessary to support infrastructure upgrades and improve grid reliability. Since 2016, customers have contributed about $2.3 billion toward infrastructure replacement, including $81 million to vegetation management between 2023 and 2025, according to the letter.
Mrvan said Northwest Indiana residents deserve to know why they experienced mass, prolonged outages and whether additional investments, preparation, maintenance or changes in reliability standards could’ve reduced the impact.
“I also request that FERC coordinate, as appropriate, with the IURC, NIPSCO, state emergency-management officials, and other relevant stakeholders to implement the lessons learned from this event,” Mrvan wrote. “I stand ready to work together to advance transparency and accountability, strengthen our electric infrastructure, and ensure that Northwest Indiana families and businesses can depend on safe, reliable and affordable power.”
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