Crown Point signs NIPSCO downsizing deal

The City of Crown Point has agreed to let NIPSCO downsize its presence in the city, setting off a political firestorm with groups and governments still opposed to the utility's plans.

The agreement was reached less than a month after state regulators ordered NIPSCO to keep its service hub in Crown Point, as well as 11 others in northern Indiana, open and fully staffed.

"I take offense at this," said Lake County Commissioner Gerry Scheub, D-Schererville, of the surprise agreement. "We will fight this. It's wrong. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with those people still fighting it."

Scheub pointed out the Crown Point settlement is a lame duck proposal, unless the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission agrees to rehear the case. The IURC issued its "final order" in the case Aug. 10. NIPSCO requested a rehearing weeks later.

Crown Point officials are defending the settlement, saying it addresses concerns about the number of utility "first responders" available during emergencies.

"My concern was not so much telling NIPSCO how to manage its business, it is making sure we have the coverage in Crown Point that we need," said City Councilman Bob Corbin, R-5th.

Under the proposal, the NIPSCO maintenance hub in the central part of town would be closed and a reduced staff transferred to the Liberty Park substation.

Under the settlement, total staffing in Crown Point would drop from 38 to 25 workers. Eight of those 25 would be home-based NIPSCO service workers at areas in the Crown Point service area. Nine of the support workers being transferred elsewhere would still be "available" for Crown Point, according to the agreement.

Crown Point's agreement could spell trouble for the city of Hammond, which has fought to keep its own NIPSCO service hub open. It is now the lone service hub municipality without a voluntary settlement with NIPSCO.

However, Lake County and Porter County officials continue to oppose the closing or downsizing of any service hub, saying those actions would affect emergency response and utility service across the counties. The city of Hammond last week told the IURC it still backs both counties in their protest.

Scheub and officials of two United Steelworkers locals pointed out Wednesday that Mayor Dan Klein's opposition to NIPSCO's plans to close the Crown Point service hub two years ago helped propel him into office.

A campaign ad taken out with newspapers at the time said Klein and Corbin traveled to Indianapolis at their own "personal expense" to protest the closing of the Crown Point hub. In the ad, they alleged NIPSCO's shifting of staff from Crown Point to Valparaiso caused a delayed response to an Oct. 14 blackout.

Klein was out of town and not available for comment Wednesday, according to his office. But Corbin defended the new agreement, saying it actually ups the number of first responders. That's because it increases by three the number of home-based electric and gas service workers.

A joint committee of NIPSCO and city representatives will meet quarterly to assess NIPSCO's service, Corbin pointed out.

In its Aug. 10 final ruling, the IURC said it could not "ignore the impact" NIPSCO's original plan to close five out of 12 service hubs would have on customer service and reliability.

In a sweeping ruling that closed the three-year-old case, it rejected many of NIPSCO's arguments supporting the consolidations as inadequate. In addition to keeping service hubs fully staffed, it also ordered the utility to file annual reports on reliability.

The utility originally planned to cut as many as 300 jobs with its consolidation plan. The hubs to be cut under that proposal were located in Crown Point, Hammond, LaPorte, Plymouth and LaGrange.

In its Aug. 10 ruling, the IURC said NIPSCO could continue to proceed with stationing repair workers at home under what it calls its "area service model," as long as it kept service hubs fully staffed. It also allowed the utility to staff its Plymouth and LaPorte service hubs under settlements it has entered into with both cities.