NIPSCO GenCo Gas Plant for Amazon Now Expected in 2030

NiSource said in its third-quarter 10-Q on Oct. 28, 2026 that GenCo's gas-fired combined-cycle plant for Amazon in northern Indiana is now expected to reach commercial operation during 2030, though NiSource's chief commercial officer said only one of the plant's two gas units is moving to that year.

The filing ties the date to "a change to construction plans" and says technical and conforming amendments were made to the contract with Amazon Data Services (ADS), the Amazon subsidiary that buys the power. In the same quarter GenCo received its major permits, issued full notice to proceed to its engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor and began site work. NiSource's 2025 annual report, filed in February, had given a window of 2028 to 2032 for the whole set of assets, so 2030 sits inside the earlier range. On the earnings call, chief commercial officer Michael Luhrs said the two gas units are not both moving to 2030, said "it is not a delay in schedule, it is actually an optimization" (management's characterization; the filing says only "a change to construction plans"), and chief financial officer Shawn Anderson said the capital requirements in the disclosures had not changed, according to a transcript published by The Motley Fool.

What Amazon gets is utility-built, grid-delivered supply: a contracted capacity commitment that starts in 2027 and rises to 2,400 MW by the end of 2032, backed by new gas, batteries and a pool of other resources. The gas plant is the largest piece, but it is not the first to deliver.

Two 1,300 MW Gas Units and the Battery Plan

The 2025 annual report gave two combined-cycle gas turbine (CCGT) units of 1,300 MW each; the Q3 10-Q repeats no MW figure after the change to construction plans. Utility Dive reported two 1.3 GW gas plants, per filings at the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), and placed the 2.6 GW at NIPSCO's Schahfer coal plant site. A combined-cycle unit burns gas in a turbine, then uses the hot exhaust to raise steam for a second turbine. That makes it a plant built to run most hours, unlike a peaking plant, which suits a data center load that runs around the clock.

Alongside the gas, GenCo is building what NiSource calls a combined 400 MW and 100 MW battery energy storage system (BESS). Mobilization is complete and on-site work is under way, the 10-Q says. The 400 MW unit is a four-hour battery, according to the IURC filings Utility Dive reviewed, and the first-quarter 10-Q described a 100 MW (nameplate) battery for the shared pool, expected to be completed in 2028; the Q3 10-Q gives no date for it. NiSource gives the batteries in MW of power, not MWh of energy.

Amazon Contract Terms and Costs

NIPSCO, the NiSource utility, signed the ADS contract in September 2025. It runs 15 years from the energization of Amazon's first data center there, with a fixed capacity charge from January 2027, and Amazon.com, Inc. guarantees the payments. NIPSCO buys the output from GenCo under a power purchase agreement (PPA) that mirrors the contract, so the costs and returns of the plants sit with GenCo rather than NIPSCO's existing customers. GenCo is now named NiSource Generation Company, and Blackstone Infrastructure affiliates own 19.9% of its parent.

Amazon has since signed two kinds of amendments. A March 2026 amendment, filed with the IURC in April, moves deliveries forward in 2027 to 2031 without raising the 2,400 MW ceiling, with a fixed charge the Amazon subsidiary pays even if it later cuts back. NIPSCO and ADS also signed amendments in March and May 2026 that would raise the commitment to 2,800 MW by the end of 2032; they take effect only if the IURC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approve, and no approval is reported. The first-quarter 10-Q is the last filing read that states the 2,800 MW figure, so 2,400 MW is the operative commitment. That extra demand is to be served from NiSource's shared "pool" of resources, not from the gas plant.

NiSource put the original package at nearly $7 billion including transmission, with about $1 billion in bill credits for existing customers. It now expects about $1.75 billion in savings across its signed GenCo agreements, including a new Microsoft contract, and expects to invest about $8.0 billion in data center projects through GenCo within a $40.0 billion capital plan for 2027 to 2033. Amazon keeps a one-time option, exercisable by March 31, 2029, to cut its commitment by 1,200 MW from Jan. 31, 2032, and NiSource's reimbursement in that case is capped.

IURC and FERC Approvals Still Pending

The IURC approved the ADS contract and the GenCo PPA in June 2026, through a settlement with the state consumer counselor and NIPSCO's industrial customer group. A July 2026 application covering the incremental-service amendment and its PPA is pending, with an order expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. Applications filed in August seeking FERC authorization for affiliate transactions between GenCo and NIPSCO to serve ADS and Alphabet are also pending, with orders expected in the same quarter.

On the call, NiSource said a 345 kV delivery substation and related transmission at the Amazon site are expected in service next year. The gas plant's 2030 date is a target set by NiSource, and its fieldwork is still grading and civil works ahead of the power block.

How Pooled Capacity Covers a Later Gas Plant

NIPSCO's Amazon contract is served two ways. "Contract Assets" are generation built for it: the gas plant and a 400 MW battery. "Pool Resource Assets" are a shared portfolio of batteries, capacity agreements, storage agreements and market capacity purchases, and NIPSCO decides what to dispatch without a customer's sign-off, NiSource's 10-Q says.

That is how supply can start before the gas plant runs. The 10-Q lists market capacity for 2028 to 2030 at about $174.6 million, a GenCo capacity agreement for 2028 to 2040 at about $1.1 billion, still awaiting approval, and a 600 MWAC / 2,400 MWh battery toll with its first phase expected by Dec. 1, 2027. The catch: pool capacity is bought or contracted for several customers, not a plant dedicated to Amazon.

What it means for Amazon's Indiana campuses

Amazon's commitment reaches 2,400 MW only by the end of 2032, so supply has to start before the gas plant runs. As of Sept. 30, the 10-Q lists market capacity purchases for 2028 to 2030 of about $174.6 million and a GenCo capacity agreement for 2028 to 2040 of about $1.1 billion, still subject to regulatory approval. It also lists a tolling deal for a 600 MWAC / 2,400 MWh battery whose first phase is expected to reach commercial operation by Dec. 1, 2027. All of these serve the contracted load of NiSource's data center customers as a group, not Amazon alone.

The gas plant is Amazon's nearest large firm supply in the state. The other Indiana project, a proposed 960 MW Xe-100 plant with AEP, is in the feasibility stage with Amazon development funding, as Voltgrid reported. Talen's Susquehanna PPA of up to 1,920 MW through 2042 buys output from a plant that already runs. In Indiana, the power is being built from the ground up.

What to watch

The fourth quarter of 2026 should bring the IURC order on the incremental-service amendment and the FERC orders on the affiliate PPAs. AGP must sign an EPC contract and an interconnection agreement for its battery by Jan. 31, 2027. NiSource has not said which of the two CCGT units moved or what the other unit's date is, and the filings read do not name the CCGT turbine supplier. The Q3 10-Q does name Quanta as EPC contractor for two 239 MW F-frame combustion turbines planned for the pool, targeted for commercial operation by end-2029 and needing IURC approval. Amazon's reduction option runs until March 31, 2029.