About a month and a half after the Aug. 11 derecho, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission will begin its investigation into NIPSCO and its storm response.
Northwest Indiana leaders expressed their support of the state agency’s decision.
“The storm was severe, but our residents deserve answers about preparedness, infrastructure, reliability, communication, and the prolonged restoration of power. In Gary, and throughout (Northwest Indiana), some residents were without electricity for two weeks,” Gary Mayor Eddie Melton said in a Wednesday statement. “An independent, fact-based investigation is the right step to determine what happened, what could have been done differently, and what must change going forward. I have already communicated the city’s priorities directly to NIPSCO, and I will continue to advocate for greater accountability, stronger infrastructure, improved emergency response, and a more reliable energy system for the people of Gary.”
In a Tuesday filing, the IURC announced it’s moving forward with the investigation, which Gov. Mike Braun called for following mass prolonged power outages after the Aug. 11 derecho. At one point, more than 300,000 NIPSCO customers were without power.
According to filings, a procedural schedule will be created in a Sept. 28 virtual attorney’s conference.
On Aug. 25, the Indiana Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor filed a petition for the IURC to investigate, according to filings. NIPSCO filed a response to the petition on Aug. 28, saying it agreed “to a limited scope” in the investigation.
According to the filings, NIPSCO must answer questions in eight areas, including data about customers who were without power, for how long and in which areas; total damage to the electric infrastructure and any necessary upgrades; a detailed report on restoration efforts, including deployment of utility crews and contractors; how mutual assistance from utilities was utilized; any staffing, equipment, vehicle, supply chain limitation and other challenges in the storm restoration process; communication with customers before, during and after the storms; communication between NIPSCO, local governments and emergency management agencies; and any resources that were used to monitor and predict weather conditions.
A NIPSCO spokesperson responded to the IURC announcement in a Wednesday statement.
“This was an unprecedented storm that caused extraordinary damage across northern Indiana,” the statement said. “We are committed to cooperating with the IURC in the investigation that was commenced today, including providing information regarding our storm preparation and response, as well as our operations and ongoing efforts to serve our customers safely and reliably.”
NIPSCO was invited to a Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission meeting last Friday to discuss lessons learned from the storm, but the company declined, saying it wasn’t ready yet, according to NIRPC Executive Director Ty Warner.
Regional leaders expressed their support for the investigation.
“The people of Portage and our entire Calumet region deserve a clear understanding (of) the state of the electrical infrastructure that NIPSCO is responsible for providing for all of us,” Portage Mayor Austin Bonta said. “We also deserve for NIPSCO to provide us with a clear plan to improve infrastructure reliability going forward, and for NIPSCO to actually carry out that plan.”
“Ratepayers should expect to get what we pay for,” he said.
“My hope is that this investigation by the IURC will lead to meaningful changes that greatly improve the reliability of the electrical infrastructure in Northwest Indiana. I will continue to do all I can do to advocate for the same goal,” Bonta said.
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Porter County Commissioner Jim Biggs’ home was clobbered by a tree during the storm. “I lost my home. I don’t blame NIPSCO, certainly,” he said. “The amount of damage was just astronomical,”
“We experienced a storm that left damages that nobody that’s alive today had seen weather-related damages to this extent, probably in the last 50 years, at least,” Biggs said.
“It’s easy to pile on and blame it on NIPSCO, which I think a lot of people unfortunately are. They didn’t create the weather,” he said.
NIPSCO was also responsive to the county. “When (the) commissioners’ office contacted them, they jumped on it right away,” Biggs said. “Under the circumstances, they were doing the best they can do.”
That said, Biggs does have some lessons he believes should be learned. “I think there needs to be a whole new conversation about their business plan and the number of staff they have, how they’re trained, how often they’re trained,” he said.
NIPSCO relied heavily on contractors to save the day. “We’re so short-handed that it should be locked and loaded to get new people on line as soon as possible,” Biggs said.
“I think residents have known for a long time there needs to be a change of direction there,” he said. “They constantly come to us and see they need more money,” but there are fewer employees. “Somebody needs to explain that to the ratepayers.”
Two union representatives have been invited to the Oct. 6 Board of Commissioners meeting to discuss their staffing concerns, he said.
Chesterton Town Council President Erin Collins said the council supports the IURC’s investigation into NIPSCO’s preparation for and response to the Aug. 11 storm. “Our community experienced firsthand the significant impact of prolonged power outages following this devastating storm, and we believe a thorough review is important,” she said.
“We hope the investigation includes a close examination of staffing levels, storm preparation, restoration resources and whether NIPSCO has the workforce necessary to adequately serve the communities that depend on it. We also hope it looks at how local workers and resources are being utilized and whether additional staffing could improve response and restoration times,” Collins said.
“Severe storms will happen again. Our focus is making sure that when they do, communities like Chesterton have the support, staffing, and resources necessary to restore critical services as quickly and safely as possible. We welcome a thorough and transparent investigation that identifies where improvements can be made,” she said.
Lake Station Mayor Bill Carroll criticized NIPSCO’s communications after the storm, which customers and other local leaders have been vocal about as well.
“It was almost eight days before we got an official email,” he said. “To wait that long was frustrating as a leader when my whole city was without power” and in survival mode.
“We fed people two times a day, lunch and dinner, three weeks straight,” Carroll said.
“The city of Lake Station was not included on any lists because we’re paired in with Gary and Portage” as a NIPSCO district, he said. “People were wanting to know why wasn’t there any update for us, 46405. We pay the same bills as everyone else pays for NIPSCO.”
“We need better communication from NIPSCO. Without communication, everybody’s in a free-for-all,” with people on social media just making stuff up, Carroll said.
The IURC approved NIPSCO rate increases, Caroll noted. “If they’re investigating what they approved, are they doing that just to save face, or is it a concern now?”
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“I’m glad that questions have risen at IURC. I hope we get some answers” and that NIPSCO is prepared in the future, he said.
“It’s not a matter of if; it’s a matter of when the next storm hits us,” Carroll said. “Every storm is getting stronger and stronger and stronger.”
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.