Novak backs Michigan City council, steelworkers in push for stronger NIPSCO staffing

On Oct. 7, the Michigan City Common Council adopted a resolution in support of United Steelworkers Local Union 12775, District 7's petition calling for stronger NIPSCO staffing, improved reliability and greater storm and emergency-response readiness. The resolution was distributed to state legislators, Gov. Mike Braun and Indiana's utility regulators.

State Rep. Randy Novak (D-Michigan City) released the following statement:

"I applaud the Common Council for its support of the United Steelworkers' petition. NIPSCO has a responsibility to the community it serves to offer reliable and affordable electricity and gas. The company's reaction to August's storms was unacceptable, and it is clear that staffing issues played a part in its delayed response.

"I am sure there are lots of hardworking folks in Northwest Indiana who would apply for a position doing linework for NIPSCO. The company needs to give those people a shot. We can't rely on out-of-state help every time there's an outage. NIPSCO has a long way to go, but I think improved staffing would be a step in the right direction toward earning back the trust of residents here in the Region.

"Local governments in Lake, Porter and LaPorte counties need to keep putting pressure on the state government to act on this issue. Utility companies across our state have been taking advantage of ratepayers for far too long. We need stronger guardrails and protections for customers, or the issues that we saw in August will happen again. We can't sit by and let that happen."