NiSource Signs 20-Year Power Deal for Microsoft's Indiana Data Center Campus; NiSource Shares Rise

NI said on Thursday that Microsoft will take electric service for its previously announced northwest Indiana data center campus under a 20-year term beginning in 2028, according to the company's press release and local coverage of the campus in La Porte, where Microsoft broke ground in June. The agreement adds approximately 1,100 MW of new generation resources to the pool owned by NiSource Generation Company, including 600 MW of battery storage contracted under a long-term tolling agreement.

The structure is designed to keep data center costs off household bills. NiSource said MSFT "will fully fund all generation and transmission needed to serve its load," and it raised its estimate of savings for NIPSCO electric customers from about $1.4 billion to about $1.75 billion, or as much as $140 per customer per year. A separate filing put the battery project at 600 MW / 2,400 MWh, with storage payments of approximately $2.2 billion over a term of about twenty and a half years and first-phase operation expected by Dec 1, 2027. The release did not disclose a contract value or power price.

Investors treated it as a growth catalyst for a regulated utility. NiSource shares were up 3.1% midday and closed Friday up 3.5% at $42.68, according to SentiSense data, on a down day for the broader market. The deal fits a pattern of hyperscalers signing long-dated supply agreements with utilities to secure power for AI workloads, and it shifts the build-out cost onto the customer driving the demand.

What to watch: the further detail NiSource promised for its third-quarter earnings call, regulatory review of the arrangement in Indiana, and what the new generation beyond the battery storage will consist of.