v3.25.4
Revenue Recognition
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2025
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
Revenue from Contract with Customer
Customer Revenues. Substantially all of our revenues are tariff-based. Under ASC 606, the recipients of our utility service meet the definition of a customer, while the operating company tariffs represent an agreement that meets the definition of a contract, which creates enforceable rights and obligations. Customers in certain of our jurisdictions participate in programs that allow for a fixed payment each month regardless of usage. Payments received that exceed the value of gas or electricity actually delivered are recorded as a liability and presented in "Customer deposits and credits" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets. Amounts in this account are reduced and revenue is recorded when customer usage exceeds payments received.
We have identified our performance obligations created under tariff-based sales as i) the commodity (natural gas or electricity, which includes generation and capacity) and ii) delivery. These commodities are sold and / or delivered to and generally consumed by customers simultaneously, leading to satisfaction of our performance obligations over time as gas or electricity is delivered to customers. Due to the at-will nature of utility customers, performance obligations are limited to the services requested and received to date. Once complete, we generally maintain no additional performance obligations.
Transaction prices for each performance obligation are generally prescribed by each operating company’s respective tariff. Rates include provisions to adjust billings for fluctuations in fuel and purchased power costs and cost of natural gas. Revenues are adjusted for differences between actual costs, subject to reconciliation, and the amounts billed in current rates. Under or over recovered revenues related to these cost recovery mechanisms are included in "Regulatory assets" or "Regulatory liabilities" on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are recovered from or returned to customers through adjustments to tariff rates. As we provide and deliver service to customers, revenue is recognized based on the transaction price allocated to each performance obligation. Distribution revenues are generally considered daily or "at-will" contracts as customers may cancel their service at any time (subject to notification requirements), and revenue generally represents the amount we are entitled to bill customers.
In addition to tariff-based sales, our gas distribution in both our Columbia Operations and NIPSCO Operations segments enters into balancing and exchange arrangements of natural gas as part of our operations and off-system sales programs. Performance obligations for these types of sales include transportation and storage of natural gas and can be satisfied at a point in time or over a period of time, depending on the specific transaction. For those transactions that span a period of time, we record a receivable or payable for any cumulative gas imbalances, as well as for any gas inventory borrowed or lent under a gas distribution operations exchange agreement.
Revenue Disaggregation and Reconciliation. We disaggregate revenue from contracts with customers based upon reportable segment, as well as by customer class. As of January 1, 2024, we have changed our reportable segments from Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations to Columbia Operations and NIPSCO Operations. Our historical segment disclosures have been recast to be consistent with the current presentation. For additional information see Note 21, "Business Segment Information".
The Columbia Operations segment provides regulated natural gas service and transportation for residential, commercial and industrial customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland. The NIPSCO Operations segment provides regulated gas and electric service in northern Indiana for residential, commercial and industrial customers.
Other Revenues. As permitted by accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, regulated utilities have the ability to earn certain types of revenue that are outside the scope of ASC 606. These revenues primarily represent revenue earned under alternative revenue programs. Alternative revenue programs represent regulator-approved mechanisms that allow for the adjustment of billings and revenue for certain approved programs. We maintain a variety of these programs, including demand side management initiatives that recover costs associated with the implementation of energy efficiency programs, as well as normalization programs that adjust revenues for the effects of weather or other external factors. Additionally, we maintain certain programs with future test periods that operate similarly to FERC formula rate programs and allow for recovery of costs incurred to replace aging infrastructure. When the criteria to recognize alternative revenue have been met, we establish a regulatory asset and present revenue from alternative revenue programs on the Statements of Consolidated Income as “Other revenues”. When amounts previously recognized under alternative revenue accounting guidance are billed, we reduce the regulatory asset and record a customer account receivable.
The tables below reconcile revenue disaggregation by customer class to segment revenue, as well as to revenues reflected on the Statements of Consolidated Income:
Year Ended December 31, 2025 (in millions)
Columbia Operations
NIPSCO Operations
Corporate and OtherTotal
Gas Distribution
Residential$2,279.9 $708.0 $— $2,987.9 
Commercial763.7 270.0 — 1,033.7 
Industrial167.4 100.2 — 267.6 
Off-system75.8 — — 75.8 
Wholesale2.1 — — 2.1 
Miscellaneous(1)
35.9 13.5 — 49.4 
Subtotal
$3,324.8 $1,091.7 $— $4,416.5 
Electric Generation and Power Delivery
Residential$— $768.4 $— $768.4 
Commercial— 713.9 — 713.9 
Industrial— 578.3 — 578.3 
Wholesale
— 45.1 — 45.1 
Public Authority
— 9.5 — 9.5 
Miscellaneous(1)
— (8.9)— (8.9)
Subtotal$— $2,106.3 $— $2,106.3 
Total Customer Revenues(2)
3,324.8 3,198.0 — 6,522.8 
Other Revenues(3)
5.2 109.3 4.9 119.4 
Total Operating Revenues$3,330.0 $3,307.3 $4.9 $6,642.2 
(1)Amounts included in Columbia Operations are primarily related to earnings sharing mechanisms and late fees. Amounts included in NIPSCO Operations are primarily related to revenue refunds, public repairs and property rentals.
(2)Customer revenue amounts exclude intersegment revenues. See Note 21, "Business Segment Information," for discussion of intersegment revenues.
(3)Amounts included in Columbia Operations primarily relate to alternate revenue programs, including weather normalization adjustment mechanisms. Amounts included in NIPSCO Operations primarily relate to weather normalization adjustment mechanisms, MISO multi-value projects and revenue from non-jurisdictional transmission assets. Amounts included in Corporate and Other primarily relate to products and services revenue.
Year Ended December 31, 2024 (in millions)
Columbia Operations
NIPSCO Operations
Corporate and Other
Total
Gas Distribution
Residential$1,833.8 $531.4 $— $2,365.2 
Commercial580.3 199.2 — 779.5 
Industrial144.2 79.0 — 223.2 
Off-system42.6 — — 42.6 
Wholesale1.2 — — 1.2 
Miscellaneous(1)
26.3 15.4 — 41.7 
Subtotal
$2,628.4 $825.0 $— $3,453.4 
Electric Generation and Power Delivery
Residential— 649.9 — 649.9 
Commercial— 620.4 — 620.4 
Industrial— 499.1 — 499.1 
Wholesale— 38.3 — 38.3 
Public Authority
— 8.1 — 8.1 
Miscellaneous(1)
— 13.7 — 13.7 
Subtotal$— $1,829.5 $— $1,829.5 
Total Customer Revenues(2)
$2,628.4 $2,654.5 $— $5,282.9 
Other Revenues(3)
74.8 96.5 0.9 172.2 
Total Operating Revenues$2,703.2 $2,751.0 $0.9 $5,455.1 
(1)Amounts included in Columbia Operations are primarily related to earnings sharing mechanisms and late fees. Amounts included in NIPSCO Operations are primarily related to revenue refunds, public repairs and property rentals.
(2)Customer revenue amounts exclude intersegment revenues. See Note 21, "Business Segment Information," for discussion of intersegment revenues.
(3)Amounts included in Columbia Operations primarily related to weather normalization adjustment mechanisms. Amounts included in NIPSCO Operations primarily relate to weather normalization adjustment mechanisms, MISO multi-value projects and revenue from non-jurisdictional transmission assets.
Year Ended December 31, 2023 (in millions)
Columbia Operations
NIPSCO Operations
Corporate and Other
Total
Gas Distribution
Residential$1,827.5 $635.0 $— $2,462.5 
Commercial598.9 249.0 — 847.9 
Industrial139.0 87.0 — 226.0 
Off-system60.6 — — 60.6 
Wholesale1.6 — — 1.6 
Miscellaneous(1)
33.4 14.8 — 48.2 
Subtotal
$2,661.0 $985.8 $— $3,646.8 
Electric Generation and Power Delivery
Residential$— $583.9 $— $583.9 
Commercial— 578.1 — 578.1 
Industrial— 474.1 — 474.1 
Wholesale— 32.0 — 32.0 
Public Authority— 11.5 — 11.5 
Miscellaneous(1)
— 21.4 — 21.4 
Subtotal$— $1,701.0 $— $1,701.0 
Total Customer Revenues(2)
$2,661.0 $2,686.8 $— $5,347.8 
Other Revenues(3)
72.9 83.9 0.8 157.6 
Total Operating Revenues$2,733.9 $2,770.7 $0.8 $5,505.4 
(1)Amounts included in Columbia Operations are primarily related to earnings share mechanisms and late fees. Amounts included in NIPSCO Operations are primarily related to late fees, property rentals, revenue refunds and adjustments.
(2)Customer revenue amounts exclude intersegment revenues. See Note 21, "Business Segment Information," for discussion of intersegment revenues.
(3)Amounts included in Columbia Operations primarily related to weather normalization adjustment mechanisms. Amounts included in NIPSCO Operations primarily related to MISO multi-value projects and revenue from non-jurisdictional transmission assets.

Customer Accounts Receivable. Accounts receivable on our Consolidated Balance Sheets includes both billed and unbilled amounts, as well as certain amounts that are not related to customer revenues. Unbilled amounts of accounts receivable relate to a portion of a customer’s consumption of gas or electricity from the date of their last cycle billing through the last day of the month (balance sheet date). Factors taken into consideration when estimating unbilled revenue include historical usage, customer rates, and weather. A significant portion of our operations are subject to seasonal fluctuations in sales. During the heating season, primarily from November through March, revenues and receivables from gas sales are more significant than in other months. The opening and closing balances of customer receivables for the year ended December 31, 2025, are presented in the table below. We had no significant contract assets or liabilities during the period. Additionally, we have not incurred any significant costs to obtain or fulfill contracts.
(in millions)Customer Accounts Receivable, Billed (less reserve)Customer Accounts Receivable, Unbilled (less reserve)
Balance as of December 31, 2024$525.1 $408.1 
Balance as of December 31, 2025698.8 465.2 
Utility revenues are billed to customers monthly on a cycle basis. We expect that substantially all customer accounts receivable will be collected following customer billing, as this revenue consists primarily of periodic, tariff-based billings for service and usage. We maintain common utility credit risk mitigation practices, including requiring deposits and actively pursuing collection of past due amounts. Our regulated operations also utilize certain regulatory mechanisms that facilitate recovery of bad debt costs within tariff-based rates, which provides further evidence of collectability. It is probable that substantially all of the consideration to which we are entitled from customers will be collected upon satisfaction of performance obligations.
Allowance for Credit Losses. To evaluate for expected credit losses, customer account receivables are pooled based on similar risk characteristics, such as customer type, geography, payment terms, and related macro-economic risks. Expected credit losses are established using a model that considers historical collections experience, current information, and reasonable and
supportable forecasts. Internal and external inputs are used in our credit model including, but not limited to, revenue projections, actual charge-offs data, recoveries data, shut-offs, security deposits and final bill data. We continuously evaluate available information relevant to assessing collectability of current and future receivables. We evaluate creditworthiness of specific customers periodically or following changes in facts and circumstances. When we become aware of a specific commercial or industrial customer's inability to pay, an allowance for expected credit losses is recorded for the relevant amount. We also monitor other circumstances that could affect our overall expected credit losses including, but not limited to, creditworthiness of overall population in service territories, adverse conditions impacting an industry sector, and current economic conditions. Bad debt expense for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $16.5 million higher than the prior year primarily due to increases in aged receivables and anticipated higher delinquencies following colder weather in the fourth quarter.
At each reporting period, we record expected credit losses to an allowance for credit losses account. When deemed to be uncollectible, customer accounts are written-off. A rollforward of our allowance for credit losses as of December 31, 2025 and December 31, 2024, are presented in the tables below:
(in millions)
Columbia Operations
NIPSCO OperationsCorporate and OtherTotal
Balance as of December 31, 2024
$9.8 $13.9 $— $23.7 
Current period provisions42.3 25.0 — 67.3 
Write-offs charged against allowance(50.8)(15.0)— (65.8)
Recoveries of amounts previously written off14.3 1.1 — 15.4 
Balance as of December 31, 2025
$15.6 $25.0 $— $40.6 
(in millions)
Columbia Operations
NIPSCO OperationsCorporate and OtherTotal
Balance as of December 31, 2023
$10.2 $11.9 $0.8 $22.9 
Current period provisions26.7 12.1 — 38.8 
Write-offs charged against allowance(43.9)(11.0)(0.8)(55.7)
Recoveries of amounts previously written off16.8 0.9 — 17.7 
Balance as of December 31, 2024
$9.8 $13.9 $— $23.7