As many of you know the role electricity and all other utilities play in our daily lives is critical to our families, businesses and economic growth. But with growth comes increasing demand and often the need for utility expansion. With little notice to landowners, NIPSCO appears determined to flex its ample muscle in expanding its utility through your valuable farm ground and our community. NIPSCO will be transporting electricity undoubtedly generated from the windmill farms near and around Reynolds, Ind. to Topeka, Ind. If your property is in the path or within 1,000 feet of one of the preliminary routes, you should have received a letter from NIPSCO discussing five planned meetings and an open house.

Most often we would assume we cannot have an impact on the route of a utility’s proposed line; that a onetime payment for a perpetual easement is sufficient; or that having transmission and power lines and towers across our land, neighbors and NIPSCO. Even if we understand the need and support the construction of the line, we want to make certain NIPSCO uses the path that has least impact on the quality production capacity of farms in its path and the least impact on our community as a whole.

Below are some considerations:

•Rural farmland appraisers are consistent in their appraisal of land values. Values are less when an electrical power transmission line is present on a property. No short term gain from the income from an easement sale (based on current dollars) is adequate when you consider the long term losses to productivity and value of your land.

•If your farm is irrigated or could be irrigated, it will cost significantly more in equipment cost to irrigate. You will possibly have more pivots, control components and significantly more operating costs and loss of efficiency of the equipment, labor and water.

•Today’s modern farming equipment does not perform well nor is it efficient when working around transmission power lines. It takes significantly more time on each and every pass around these electrical structures.

•The impact to farm production is based on today’s values of farm output – not what it is into perpetuity.

•The electrical towers and lines are there forever. 

Time is critical – it is our understanding that NIPSCO plans on beginning property acquisition within the month. The choice is yours to make.

We feel it is important to communicate the situation and the probable outcomes before you sign any agreements with NIPSCO or related parties involved in the real estate acquisition. It is highly suggested to discuss this with your legal counsel that has dealt with eminent domain issues and plan to use them to help shape the route in an effort to not negatively impact any of you and your family farmland properties. We hope you will join us along with other property owners in the discussion.