Merrillville

Favorable weather and lower interest rates helped natural gas distributor NiSource Inc. reverse year-ago quarterly losses. The Merrillville, IN-based company, which serves 3.7 million natural gas and electric customers from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England, reported 3Q net income of $23.2 million (11 cents a share), compared with a net loss of $21 million (minus 10 cents) for the same period of 2001.

Favorable weather and lower interest rates helped natural gas distributor NiSource Inc. reverse year-ago quarterly losses. The Merrillville, IN-based company, which serves 3.7 million natural gas and electric customers from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England, reported third quarter net income of $23.2 million (11 cents a share), compared with a net loss of $21 million (minus 10 cents) for the same period of 2001.

NiSource Inc., headquartered in Merrillville, IN, is expanding its Washington, D.C. presence to enhance the company’s advocacy efforts on federal government issues, and beginning June 4, Rebecca T. Sczudlo will be the company’s vice president of federal government affairs. Sczudlo has 20 years experience in government affairs and communications, including seven years as a staff member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. She also has worked for Shell Oil Co. as a government affairs representative. She will report to NiSource CEO Gary Neale on policy matters and to Ramon Arredondo, assistant to Neale, administratively.

NiSource Inc., headquartered in Merrillville, IN, is expanding its Washington, D.C. presence to enhance the company’s advocacy efforts on federal government issues, and beginning June 4, Rebecca T. Sczudlo will be the company’s vice president of federal government affairs. Sczudlo has 20 years experience in government affairs and communications, including seven years as a staff member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. She also has worked for Shell Oil Co. as a government affairs representative. She will report to NiSource CEO Gary Neale on policy matters and to Ramon Arredondo, assistant to Neale, administratively.

NiSource Inc., the gas and electric power distributor headquarteredin Merrillville, IN, reported that its earnings were up 25% for thethird quarter, with a per common share of $1.27 compared with $1.02 inthe third quarter of 1999. The results were “favorably impacted” bythe sale of Market Hub Partners (see Daily GPI, Aug. 31), which resulted in a $23.8 millionafter-tax gain, or approximately 19 cents per common share. NiSourcesaid that continued customer growth from the company’s natural gas,electric and water distribution businesses contributed to improvedearnings, offset by decreased electricity sales in the cool summer,increased interest charges of $28.4 million related to the Bay StateGas and EnergyUSA-TPC acquisitions, and expenditures of $5 millionrelated to the NiSource Columbia Energy Group merger (see Daily GPI,June 2). Net income was $1.55 million,an increase of $27.6 million from the third quarter of 1999. Gasoperations EBIT increased $83 million to $144.7 million from lastyear, mostly because of its Market Hub Partners sale. Electricoperation earnings EBIT increased $8.9 million to $292 million becauseof decreased operating expenses, which were partially offset bydecreased sales to residential customers during the cooler summercompared to the same period in 1999. NiSource said its cooling degreedays were down 23% from a year ago, which also decreased bulk powersales to other utilities. As part of its merger with Columbia EnergyGroup, which is slated to close Wednesday (Nov. 1), NiSource completedexchanging Columbia common shares for those electing to receive stockunder an exchange ratio of 3.04414. Under the merger terms, theexchange ratio was determined by dividing $74 by the average closingprice of NiSource common stock beginning Sept. 18 and endingOct. 27. The average for the period was $24.3090. Columbiashareholders who wanted to receive NiSource stock in the merger weresupposed to submit their completed election forms and stockcertificates by 5 p.m. Monday (Oct. 30). Contact ChaseMellonShareholder Services at (800) 685-4258 for information.

Merrillville, IN-based NiSource confirmed yesterday what someobservers have suspected for some time: that Columbia EnergyGroup’s failed bid for Consolidated Natural Gas was partly a veiledattempt to protect itself from being targeted by a buyer. NiSourceannounced that it has had an offer for Columbia on the table sinceApril 1 but has been rebuffed repeatedly and is making its hostilebid public in an effort to pressure Columbia’s board.