Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) has announced the opening of its next round of request for proposals (RFP) to consider a combination of potential resources to meet the future electric needs of its customers.
“As we continue to further our Your Energy, Your Future, customer-focused plan, it’s important to consider all energy source options that balance the needs of our customers and communities,” said Violet Sistovaris, NIPSCO president. “This effort is consistent with our goal to focus on providing affordable, reliable energy while maintaining flexibility for future technology and market changes.”
This RFP will satisfy a 2023 capacity need following the release of NIPSCO’s 2018 Integrated Resource Plan where the company announced its plans to retire all of its remaining coal-fired generation by 2028, and replace it with lower-cost, cleaner options. NIPSCO is considering all sources in the RFP process. Dispatchable and semi-dispatchable generation, renewables, demand response resources and contractual arrangements will be considered, as well as emerging technologies such as storage.
Specifically, NIPSCO is requesting proposals in three target areas:
- Wind – Targeting 300 megawatt (MW)* of installed capacity (ICAP) of wind and wind paired with storage
- Solar – Targeting 2,300 MW* ICAP of solar and solar paired with storage
- Thermal and other – Targeting economic opportunities for thermal and other capacity resources
CRA International is the independent RFP manager.
NIPSCO’s current energy mix includes generation from natural gas and coal, hydroelectric generation, purchased wind power, customer-owned renewable generation, demand response, energy efficiency and other purchased power.
The RFP will close Nov. 20, 2019 and more information can be found at http://www.nipsco-rfp.com.
*NIPSCO reserves the right to transact more or less than the referenced ICAP target.
About NIPSCO: Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), with headquarters in Merrillville, Indiana, has proudly served the energy needs of northern Indiana for more than 100 years. As Indiana’s largest natural gas distribution company and the second-largest electric distribution company, NIPSCO serves approximately 820,000 natural gas and 460,000 electric customers across 32 counties. NIPSCO is part of NiSource’s (NYSE: NI) seven regulated utility companies. NiSource is one of the largest fully regulated utility companies in the United States, serving approximately 4 million natural gas and electric customers through its local Columbia Gas and NIPSCO brands. More information about NIPSCO and NiSource is available at NIPSCO.com and NiSource.com.