McGuireWoods served as legal adviser to NiSource Inc., one the nation’s largest fully regulated utility companies, and its subsidiaries in developing an innovative model to meet the surging energy demands of the data center industry.
The firm advised NiSource Inc.’s subsidiary Northern Indiana Public Service Company LLC (NIPSCO) and its new subsidiary NIPSCO Generation LLC (GenCo) in structuring a groundbreaking electric service agreement with Amazon to supply up to 3 gigawatts of capacity for Amazon data center sites in NIPSCO’s Northern Indiana service territory. McGuireWoods also assisted with securing equity financing arrangements and led negotiations for all construction and power purchase agreements for the generation facilities that will provide the required capacity.
GenCo and NIPSCO’s first major partnership represents a nearly $7 billion investment in energy infrastructure to power Amazon’s development of multibillion-dollar data center campuses. The investment, which includes two 1,300-megawatt combined-cycle, natural gas-fired turbines and 400 megawatts of battery storage, will create thousands of construction jobs and long-term economic opportunities in Northern Indiana.
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approved NIPSCO’s proposal to launch GenCo to handle large-load customers such as data centers.
GenCo can negotiate power rates directly with developers, shielding existing NIPSCO customers from the cost of major capacity expansion.
McGuireWoods advised NiSource on the $1.5 billion sale of a 19.9% minority equity interest in GenCo to affiliates of Blackstone Infrastructure Partners. The transaction was completed in October 2025.
“We are proud to support NiSource and its subsidiaries in these transformative agreements to support the expansion of critical digital infrastructure,” said Joanne Katsantonis, who co-leads McGuireWoods’ Energy M&A and Finance Practice Group with partner Brian Kelly.
Kelly said, “The depth of our energy trading, financing and EPC practices allows us to deploy multidisciplinary teams capable of structuring energy transactions that address complex challenges from a generation and load perspective and support our clients’ growth in a rapidly changing energy landscape.”
The McGuireWoods teams were led by Katsantonis, Kelly, Barlow Mann, Emilie McNally and Sam Kettering.
McGuireWoods’ Energy M&A and Finance Practice Group — ranked nationally by Chambers USA, the Legal 500 United States and Best Law Firms — combines focused industry knowledge, regulatory fluency, and practical, business-driven solutions to help clients complete strategic transactions, secure financing and advance critical projects across the country.