Gary residents can finally expect to get more detailed answers to their questions about why the Aug. 11 storm knocked out power in the city for more than two weeks, after a state commission launched an investigation of NIPSCO this week.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission is demanding that NIPSCO answer the biggest questions that Gary and other Northwest Indiana residents have been asking since day 1.
NIPSCO must answer these questions and more:
- How many customers were without power, in which municipalities, and for how long?
- What emergency outage execution plans helped NIPSCO decide whose power to restore first?
- How much total damage to NIPSCO’s electric infrastructure occurred as a result of the storm, and what upgrades are necessary in the aftermath?
The IURC also asked NIPSCO for a detailed report on restoration efforts, including the deployment of utility crews and contractors. It also wants a description of any gaps in the outage/storm restoration process that were identified, and how those gaps will be filled.
The investigation launched the same week as another welcome development for Gary residents: FEMA reopened its storm recovery center. The center, located in the United Steelworkers Local 1014 building at 1301 Texas St., is for residents still seeking relief from August’s storm and intermittent blackouts.
NIPSCO has said it will cooperate with the investigation while largely characterizing the power outage as unavoidable.
“This was an unprecedented storm that caused extraordinary damage across northern Indiana. We are committed to cooperating with the IURC in the investigation, including providing information regarding our storm preparation and response, as well as operations and ongoing efforts to serve our customers safely and reliably,” NIPSCO said in a statement.
Mayor Eddie Melton issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging the severity of the storm while questioning several elements of NIPSCO’s preparation for and response to it.
“The storm was severe,” Melton said. “But our residents deserve answers about preparedness, infrastructure, reliability, communication, and the prolonged restoration of power. In Gary, and throughout NWI, some residents were without electricity for two weeks.”
Gary Councilman Myles Tolliver Sr. said he supports the investigation, but only if it can produce meaningful change.
“I think that with the infrastructure, the lack of preparedness, vegetation management, and just overall communication from NIPSCO, it’s about time they start it,” Tolliver told Capital B Gary.
“We know a lot of infrastructure is outdated. I have a father that’s 78 years old, and if the wind blows the wrong way his power goes out,” he said.
Ben Gavelek, an IURC spokesperson, told Capital B Gary that there’s no typical timeframe for completing this type of investigation. Gavelek said that a clearer timeline will be established on Monday following a conference between the involved parties.
Similar investigations into utilities have lasted up to eight months, while more comprehensive dives can take up to two years. A recent IURC investigation involving NIPSCO’s gas meter billing procedures is currently in its 10th month.
NIPSCO repeatedly cited widespread tree damage as the primary reason restoration in Gary was prolonged. During the outage, company officials said uprooted trees and fallen limbs brought down power lines and made it difficult for crews to reach damaged equipment.
Resident Morgan Styles said she is excited to get more answers from NIPSCO.
“That whole time our power was out, I kept wondering why it was taking so long,” Styles said. “Now I’m wondering why my bill looks the same.”
Others, like Michael Passmore, are doubtful the investigation will bring about real change.
“It’s cool to see,” he said, “but if I understand, the commission only has the power to raise rates, and that’s not what I’m looking for. So I doubt that there will be any laws created around this.”
More than 70 residents gathered Thursday evening with local advocates and elected officials for a town hall meeting at Trinity United Church of Christ in Midtown to voice their frustrations as well as to organize against NIPSCO.
State Rep. Vernon Smith stressed the need for residents to be present for a utility committee hearing in Indianapolis this coming Tuesday, during which the committee will look into NIPSCO’s handling of the Aug. 11 storm.
“The Northwest Indiana delegation asked for this meeting to be held here in Northwest Indiana, but we were denied. Our strategy should be to see how many folks we can get down there, and I’m willing to put up money for gas,” he said.
Attendees blasted NIPSCO for raising rates recently, and began assembling a list of demands to formally submit to the utility company. The demands included a 6-month moratorium on disconnections, an order to reimburse residents for lost food, wages and medicine, and a full audit of NIPSCO’s grid investments in the past decade.
Jonathon Wilson of Gary said residents need to organize so that their requests can be taken seriously.
“A demand lacks inherent formal backing and comes from an imbalance of power,” Wilson said Thursday. “A command is an authoritative order that relies on formal power and expects automatic compliance.
“We are the people, we run this,” Wilson said. “And we need to organize and start making commands.”
