NIPSCO may soon be looking to retire four coal-fire electric generation units at two of its power plants.
The company announced on Tuesday it is working to complete its Integrated Resource Planning for submission to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission in November. As part of the plan, NIPSCO is expected to outline how to meet consumer energy needs over the next 20 years. IRP documents are completed every two years.
To meet federal energy regulations, NIPSCO estimates it would need to invest $1-billion over the next seven years. In a press release, the utility provider says it may be in the best interest of its customers if it retires some of the coal generation units.
The impact of this will likely be seen in Porter County and in Wheatfield at the Bailly and R.M. Schahfer Generating Station between 2018 and 2023.
Decisions have not been finalized at this time while NIPSCO continues to work on determining the best path forward. The company says that if they ultimately decide to retire the coal powered generation units, they would move their existing employees to a new service.
Due to the relatively low prices of natural gas, NIPSCO says its energy portfolio is already shifting away from the use of coal. Currently NIPSCO operates three coal-fired generating stations, one natural gas, two hydroelectric facilities, and purchased wind power.
