NIPSCO locked out 1,600 steelworkers on April 2, 2026, after contract talks broke down with two locals that had been working under an expired agreement. The utility said it would keep the lockout in place until the union accepted its last, best and final offer.
The action hit workers from USW Local 12775 and USW Local 13796, two locals that together cover utility employees whose jobs keep power and gas flowing across northwest Indiana. The lockout also lands at a time when hundreds of thousands of customers in the region are already paying close attention to the company’s reliability and pricing.
That scrutiny was already building before the lockout. In early 2024, Blackstone Infrastructure Partners finalized a 19.9% minority stake in NIPSCO for $2.15 billion, and the article says the company later contracted utility work to firms far from Northern Indiana after the deal. Customers were told in October 2025 that bills varied, and the author said three neighbors have paid more than $875 a month since then, while his own bill for a small apartment in Michigan City runs about $185 a month.
Vince Parisi, who defended the system’s performance, said, “I’m proud of how this system has operated.” He also said, “During this cold snap, less than point one of our customers have seen any interruption, and because of the great men and women that get out there and work in this cold weather, those interruptions have been very minimal,” underscoring how much the company is leaning on a record of service even as it shuts out the people who help keep that record intact.
The friction is plain: NIPSCO is pointing to reliability while moving to replace union labor and pressuring workers back to the table on its terms. With the contract expired and the lockout now in force, the next test is whether the company’s offer produces a settlement or deepens a fight that is already spilling from the bargaining room into monthly bills and the lives of northwest Indiana families.
