MERRILLVILLE, Indiana, August 16, 2026, 06:05 EDT — U.S. cash markets are shut for Sunday.
- Early Sunday, an initial tally showed roughly 172,000 customers in northwest Indiana were still without electricity.
- NiSource shares rose roughly 9.5% over the past week even with the disruption.
- NIPSCO aims to restore 90% of service by Tuesday, with complete restoration expected by Friday.
NiSource Inc. NYSE:NI starts this week amid a notable contrast. Around 172,000 customers of its NIPSCO utility remained without electricity early Sunday. Nonetheless, NiSource shares climbed by approximately 9.5% over the past week.
About 34.4% of NiSource’s roughly 500,000 electric customers experienced outages in the initial tally, marking this storm as a significant challenge to operational resilience. The event has yet to trigger a selloff in shares.
Investors seem to be distinguishing between a significant restoration expense and the company’s broader growth outlook. NiSource operates regulated utilities, and its natural gas division spans six states with 3.3 million customers. Although the electric interruption is substantial, its impact remains regionally focused.
| Outage checkpoint | NIPSCO customers out | Share of 468,000 tracked customers | Change from peak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday peak | 258,885 | 55.3% | — |
| Friday | 199,454 | 42.6% | -22.9% |
| Sunday, early estimate | About 172,000 | 36.8% | -33.6% |
The restoration trend is positive. According to initial Sunday data, roughly 86,900 customers have regained service since the peak reached on Thursday. However, over one-third of customers monitored by NIPSCO were still experiencing outages.
NIPSCO anticipates restoring power to 90% of impacted customers by August 18, with complete restoration aimed for August 21. Workers are prioritizing repairs to transmission lines and substations, followed by service to critical facilities and major distribution lines.
| Market measure | August 7 close | August 14 close | Weekly change |
|---|---|---|---|
| NiSource NYSE:NI | $42.61 | $46.66 | +9.5% |
| S&P 500 | About 7,758 | 7,785.76 | +0.4% |
| Dow Jones Industrial Average | About 54,036 | 53,732.41 | -0.6% |
That resilience is significant. The stock rebounded past its pre-storm finish even as repair timelines grew. This indicates investors see the incident as a temporary expense, without an immediate impact on regulated earnings potential.
NiSource’s most recent official forecast backs up that assessment. In May, the company maintained its adjusted earnings guidance for 2026, projecting $2.02 to $2.07 per share. Additionally, it increased its adjusted EPS growth target for 2026–2033 to a range of 9% to 10%.
| Analyst | Firm | Recommendation | Target | Upside from $46.66 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sophie Karp | KeyBanc | Buy | $50 | 7.2% |
| James Thalacker | BMO Capital | Buy | $50 | 7.2% |
| Shahriar Pourreza | Wells Fargo | Buy | $52 | 11.4% |
| Nicholas Campanella | Barclays | Buy | $51 | 9.3% |
| Stephen D’Ambrisi | RBC Capital | Buy | $52 | 11.4% |
Analysts’ price targets provide little scope for unexpected operational shifts. The five latest targets listed above suggest potential gains of 7% to 11%. That margin may shrink if restoration expenses increase or if regulators dispute reimbursement efforts.
| Investor reference | Verified figure | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Electric customers | About 500,000 | Current preliminary outages represent 34.4% |
| Natural-gas customers | About 3.3 million | Expands the customer portfolio over six states |
| 2026–2030 capital plan | $28.0 billion | Supports upgrades to the system and data center investment |
| Expected data-center customer savings | About $1.4 billion | Key for regulatory backing of high-demand growth |
The immediate test comes ahead of the earnings call. Investors are monitoring if NIPSCO achieves Tuesday’s target of 90% restoration. They will also observe new storms, crew accessibility, and the state of damaged equipment.
In June, Chief Executive Lloyd Yates stated that infrastructure costs for large-load customers should be covered by those users. He also mentioned that current customers would be granted bill credits as demand increases. This approach was instrumental in obtaining regulatory approval in Indiana.
Risks remain acute. Additional storms may undo restoration progress. Increased repair expenses, customer claims, or delayed regulatory recovery might strain cash flow.
Investors will collect a quarterly dividend of $0.30 on August 20. While the payout does not shield against execution shortfalls, it maintains the outage scenario as part of the larger regulated-return narrative.
