NiSource Inc.

NiSource Inc. is an American regulated utility holding company that distributes natural gas and electricity to approximately 3.8 million customers across six states through its two operating segments — Columbia Operations (gas distribution in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland) and NIPSCO Operations (integrated gas and electric utility in northern Indiana). The company generated $6.64 billion in operating revenue and $927 million in net income in fiscal 2025.

This is a story about a traditionally sleepy Midwestern utility that has become one of the more interesting experiments in the sector. NiSource is attempting to do something its peers have not: use a dedicated generation subsidiary — GenCo — to serve the enormous power demand of hyperscale data centers without burdening its existing retail customers. The early returns are striking: contracts with Amazon and Alphabet representing roughly 4 GW of load, a minority equity commitment from Blackstone, and an upwardly revised long-term earnings growth target of 9–10%.

The file turns on a single question: whether the GenCo model can deliver investment-grade returns at scale without the regulatory compact that has defined the utility business model for a century. If the answer is yes, NiSource has arguably found a third leg — between regulated returns and merchant risk — that re-rates the entire story. If the answer is no, the company is simply a well-run gas and electric utility with an elevated capex burden and a complicated corporate structure.