Electric industry veteran Jim L. Stanley will take the helm at NIPSCO as CEO on Oct. 1, becoming the fourth person to head up the Indiana utility in the past five years.
He will replace Jimmy Staton, who will now serve exclusively as head of parent company NiSource Inc.'s fast-growing natural gas transmission and storage business. Staton has split his time between that business and NIPSCO since September 2011.
“Jim Stanley brings extensive Indiana utility leadership experience to NIPSCO’s ongoing efforts to strengthen customer service, enhance reliability and execute on major new environmental and infrastructure investment programs,” said NiSource President and CEO Robert Skaggs Jr.
NIPSCO is in the midst of a $510 million construction project to add environmental protections at its Schahfer Generating Station in Wheatfield. The utility plans to add similar environmental protections at its Michigan City Generating Station.
NIPSCO has 457,000 electric customers and 786,000 natural gas customers in northern Indiana. In December, it was granted new rates by state regulators after a lengthy rate case, which was the utility's first in more than 20 years.
Stanley comes to NIPSCO from Duke Energy, where he served most recently as vice president and chief distribution officer for its U.S. electric business. He previously served as president of Duke Energy Indiana. Altogether his career has spanned 35 years including stints at PSI Energy and Cinergy.
Stanley grew up in Portage and graduated from Ball State University, where he now serves on the executive advisory board of at the Miller College of Business.*
Jimmy Staton took the helm at NIPSCO in March 2010, when Eileen O'Neill Odum resigned the post after serving as CEO for a little more than two years.
Staton is credited with salvaging NIPSCO's troubled rate case by revamping rates for industrial customers while reducing the company's request for a residential rate increase.
“Jimmy’s compelling vision, tireless leadership and straightforward approach have put our NIPSCO team on the path to success,” Skaggs said.
* Editor's note: This story has been updated from an earlier version.
CEO'S HOMETOWN INCORRECT: A story Thursday about newly hired NIPSCO CEO Jim Stanley contained incorrect information about where he grew up. Stanley grew up in Portage. The Times regrets the error.
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