NiSource signs long-term power deal with Alphabet, expands Amazon agreement

NiSource is reshaping its utility business around the exploding power needs of data centers, betting that long-term contracts with Alphabet and Amazon can fund new infrastructure without shifting the full bill to households in Indiana.

The company said Thursday, April 16, that it signed a long-term energy agreement with a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. to support a large-scale data center in northern Indiana, with service expected to begin in summer 2026. NiSource said the contract is structured through a GenCo-owned pooled portfolio of electric generation assets and market capacity purchases, a model the company says is meant to bolster transmission upgrades, improve grid reliability and resilience, and absorb some of the load growth tied to artificial intelligence and cloud computing.

NiSource also expanded its existing arrangement with Amazon Data Services, Inc., saying the bigger deal will speed energization of Amazon sites and bring residential credits forward sooner. Together, the GenCo arrangements could produce about $1.25 billion in aggregate cost savings for existing customers, which NiSource translated into roughly $90 to $115 a year in benefit for residential customers. The company said it will contribute $17 million to a customer fund for communities hosting generation and data center development.

The stakes are larger than one utility's balance sheet. NiSource said the broader Amazon and GenCo partnership represents nearly $7 billion in energy infrastructure investment and thousands of construction jobs, while its 2026 to 2030 consolidated capital plan now totals about $28 billion, including nearly $7 billion in strategic data center infrastructure investments. Market reports said NiSource shares rose after the announcement, underscoring investor enthusiasm for utilities that can turn surging data-center demand into regulated spending and long-term revenue.

The deal also lands in the middle of a national policy fight over who pays for the AI buildout. Indiana regulators approved large-load interconnection rules in February 2025, and in 2026 the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission held statewide listening sessions as consumer concern grew over utility bills and data centers. Advocates including the Citizens Action Coalition have argued that utilities need stronger protections for ordinary ratepayers, while NiSource says its first-in-the-nation GenCo structure, approved by the commission in 2025 under NIPSCO Generation LLC, is designed to own, build and manage generation assets for large-load customers while shielding existing retail customers from related costs.

For NiSource, the message is straightforward: if hyperscale users want more power, they can help finance the poles, wires and plants required to deliver it. For Indiana households, the promise is that data-center growth will support the grid instead of overwhelming it, and that the gains from the AI economy will show up on monthly bills, not just in corporate earnings.