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NW Indiana utility customers hit with massive bills
Some utility customers of Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) are doing a double-take after seeing their recent bills.
HAMMOND, Ind. - Some utility customers of Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) are doing a double-take after seeing their recent bills.
What we know:
NIPSCO already charges more for electricity than any other utility company in the state of Indiana. Some of our viewers in Northwest Indiana are reporting their utility bills have doubled or tripled year-to-date.
That's why they've reached out to Fox Chicago with their questions and concerns. So we took them straight to NIPSCO.
Terri Logan from Hamlet sent us her bills From May 2024, and May 2025. Her gas bill went from $33.08 to $153.42. We noticed NIPSCO charged significantly more money for what it lists as "deliver charges." That cost went from $24 to $88 year-to-year.
Fox Chicago received several calls, emails and messages with similar accounts. Kelly Hicks from Hamlet, Indiana said she had to get a second job bartending to keep up with the bills.
"You still have to eat you still have to have lights we sit in the dark at night we sit in sweatshirts it's just not a way to live," said Hicks.
Kevin Mejia from East Chicago, Indiana also told us his bills went up at least double, and in some cases tripled year-to-year.
"I'm falling on a thin line of being able to pay my bills and live a life, as I once was able to," said Mejia.
We reached out to NIPSCO about why this is happening. While no one from the company agreed to do an on-camera interview, a spokesperson sent Fox Chicago a statement saying:
"We understand that some of our customers have expressed concerns about high winter bills. We hear our customers and understand that energy usage and bills tend to be higher this time of year, which can affect household budgets. With those concerns in mind, we want to explain how seasonal conditions directly affect natural gas usage and delivery charges.
Colder temperatures mean increased natural gas usage, which impacts the delivery portion of customers’ bills. There are two primary components of natural gas bills – the cost of delivering natural gas to customers (shown on the bill as "Delivery Charges") and the cost of natural gas itself (shown on the bill as "Gas Supply Charges").
The Gas Supply Charge or the cost of natural gas itself is driven by market prices, and NIPSCO does not control or mark up these costs. Delivery Charges cover the cost of safely and reliably operating and maintaining the system that brings natural gas to homes and businesses.
These charges go toward maintaining our 18,100 miles of distribution pipelines and 720 miles of transmission pipelines, responding to service calls, and ensuring safe, reliable service for more than 900,000 customers. They also fund system upgrades to improve safety, reliability, and long-term service, as well as financing the cost of those improvements."
Fox Chicago followed up by asking them to explain why Logan's bills from May, which are typically, not considered to be winter bills increased that much and why the delivery costs went up that much. We're still waiting on an answer.
"Do they have the same rates that we do," asked Hicks. "I'm assuming that they do, but what do they do to combat this? I mean, everybody is turning their heat own, and we're all surviving at 62 degrees or trying to, how are they surviving?
What's next:
Hundreds of people have connected on social media and organized a protest scheduled for Sunday Feb. 1 outside of NIPSCO's Hammond regional office.
The company said it offers customers financial assistance and budget plans to help them manage their energy bills.