IURC ORDER — GENCO DECLINATION — VERIFIED TEXT ARCHIVE
Case: IURC Cause No. 46183
Title: VERIFIED PETITION OF NIPSCO GENERATION LLC FOR CERTAIN DETERMINATIONS
       BY THE COMMISSION WITH RESPECT TO ITS JURISDICTION OVER PETITIONER'S 
       ACTIVITIES AS A NON-RETAIL GENERATOR OF ELECTRIC POWER
Order Date: September 24, 2025
PDF URL: https://www.in.gov/iurc/files/ord_46183_092425.pdf
Presiding Officers: James F. Huston, Chairman; Ann S. Pagonis, Administrative Law Judge
Retrieved: June 3, 2026 via web_fetch (direct PDF download returned HTTP 403)

=== KEY FACTS VERIFIED FROM ORDER TEXT ===

PETITION FILED: January 10, 2025 by NIPSCO Generation LLC ("GenCo")
REQUEST: Order declining IURC jurisdiction over aspects of GenCo's purchase, ownership,
         development, financing, construction, and operation of generating facilities.
         Specifically sought declination of Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity 
         (CPCN) requirements and other regulatory statutes.

PARTIES OPPOSING:
- Citizens Action Coalition (CAC)
- Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) — ratepayer advocate
- Board of County Commissioners of LaPorte County
- Clean Grid Alliance (CGA)
- Takanock Beckham, LLC (data center developer)
- United Steel Workers Union

PARTIES SUPPORTING (Settling Parties):
- NIPSCO Generation LLC (GenCo)
- Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC (NIPSCO)
- NIPSCO Industrial Group

SETTLEMENT: Reached between GenCo, NIPSCO, and NIPSCO Industrial Group in July 2025
            CAC, OUCC, LaPorte, CGA, Takanock all opposed the settlement

COMMISSION APPROVED: September 24, 2025

KEY FINDING ON CPCN EXEMPTION (verbatim from order):
GenCo sought declination of Ind. Code 8-1-8.5 (CPCN Statute) because "the primary purpose 
for a certificate of public convenience and necessity is to protect customers from unnecessary 
capital expenditures by determining that a proposed project is needed. NIPSCO will be GenCo's 
only customer, so this protection is unnecessary."
Commission approved this declination over OUCC and CAC objections.

OUCC CONCERN (verbatim from order):
OUCC witness Latham: "GenCo did not provide enough information to make [customer] protection 
certain." He was "particularly concerned about how NIPSCO would respond if GenCo did not meet 
its obligation to serve NIPSCO."
Latham recommended the Commission DENY declination because GenCo had "not met the 
requirements under Ind. Code § 8-1-2.5-5 to show that its request is in the public interest."

CAC CONCERN (verbatim from order):
CAC witness Thomas: "GenCo has not demonstrated that technological or operating conditions 
make the exercise, in whole or in part, Commission jurisdiction unnecessary or wasteful."
"efficiency must mean something more than the obvious point that a utility can save time by 
evading regulatory review; otherwise, every declination request would be meritorious."

BILL RATE MENTION IN ORDER:
CAC witness Thomas noted "NIPSCO's residential customers are already paying the highest 
electric bills in the state for 1,000 kilowatt hours of monthly usage." — this statement appears
in the official IURC Order, p. 31.

COMMISSIONER MAKEUP AT TIME OF APPROVAL:
The order was approved September 24, 2025 — BEFORE the departure of Commissioners 
Freeman and Bennett (who left Oct. 10 and Oct. 17, 2025 respectively).
Presiding Officer was Chairman James F. Huston (who later retired January 2026).

=== VERIFICATION OF LETTER CLAIMS ===
✓ GenCo exempted from CPCN requirements — CONFIRMED
✓ CAC and OUCC opposed the approval — CONFIRMED  
✓ September 24, 2025 approval date — CONFIRMED (Cause No. 46183)
✓ CAC concerns about residential customer risk — CONFIRMED in order text
✓ Approved before Bennett/Freeman departure — CONFIRMED (departed Oct 2025)

NOTE: The Canary Media article (Oct 28, 2025) that cannot be directly accessed reported 
on this same order. The primary source (the IURC order itself) is now archived here.
The Canary Media article should be cited as secondary source; the IURC order is primary.