By Amanda Durish Cook
NiSource last week reported second-quarter earnings of $23.2 million ($0.07/share), compared to a net loss of $44.4 million ($0.14/share) for the same period a year ago because of a hefty refinancing fee. (See NiSource Blames Debt Refinance Fee for Q2 Loss.)
The Merrillville, Ind.-based parent of Northern Indiana Public Service Co. and Columbia Gas earned $299.3 million ($0.86/share) for the first half of 2018.
Speaking during an Aug. 1 earnings call, CEO Joe Hamrock said the company has taken steps to strengthen the company’s finances in response to federal tax cuts, including offering about 25 million shares ($600 million) of common stock in a private placement and refinancing $760 million in long-term debt through the issuance of $400 million of preferred stock and $350 million of five-year notes.
“Due to financial statement impacts and the timing of federal tax reform implementation, our year-over-year consolidated results can be difficult to compare,” CFO Donald Brown said. “However … we are making continued progress on managing our annual operating and maintenance expenses, and we now expect our annual O&M expenses to be down approximately 4% in 2018 versus 2017.”
NiSource also remains on track to invest up to $1.8 billion in regulated utility infrastructure in this year, Hamrock said.
Hamrock said NiSource subsidiary Northern Indiana Public Service Co. placed two major Indiana transmission projects into service during the quarter, including the 100-mile, 345-kV Reynolds-Topeka transmission line and the 70-mile, 765-kV Greentown-Reynolds line. The projects, which cost a combined $600 million, were both part of MISO’s 17-project multi-value portfolio approved in 2011. (See MISO Triennial Review Shows Multi-Value Project Benefits.) Hamrock said the lines will “enhance regionwide system reliability, provide environmental benefits by increasing access to wind and solar energy and improve access to lower-cost electricity for customers.”
NIPSCO has also solicited 90 proposals for replacement capacity through its integrated resource plan, targeted for submission to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission by the end of the year.
Hamrock said the company received a “robust response to our request for proposals that should provide diverse options to meet our customers’ electricity needs for years to come.” He added the proposals total more than 20 GW with “several diverse fuel options.”
“The next step is to fully evaluate all of these options to develop the right portfolio of generation to best serve our Indiana electric customers,” he added.
In its last IRP, NIPSCO announced it planned to retire 50% of its coal-fired fleet by 2023. The company retired its 480-MW Bailly Generating Station Units 7 and 8 in northern Indiana on Lake Michigan in May, according to schedule. Both units were more than 50 years old.
