Become a Supplier

Step 1

Complete the Supplier Information Form

Provide financial information as specified in the Tariff Section 4.a - Credit Worthiness, including:

• Most recent annual report, 10K or 10Q and current financial statements prepared since the last audited reports
• List of parent company and other affiliates
• Names, addresses and telephone numbers of three trade references
• Names, addresses and telephone numbers of one or more banking institution contacts
• List of unbundling programs in which that CSP is participating
• Confirmation that the CSP is not operating under any bankruptcy or insolvency law
• Confirmation that no significant lawsuits or judgments are outstanding
• Confirmation that the CSP is not aware of any adverse condition which could cause a material change in financial condition
• Any additional financial related information as determined by the Company

Submit appropriate fees

• Submit $100.00 for TS program credit evaluation fee, and/or
• Submit $40.00 for Choice program credit evaluation fee
• Submit $240.00 for Choice program application fee

Please contact the Transportation Support Services Team at transportevaluations@nisource.com for accepted forms of payment.

Step 2

Undergo a UCC-1 search

If you're interested in becoming a Choice supplier, you will also undergo a UCC-1 search and will be required to amend any applicable liens in order to participate in the Choice Accounts Receivable Purchase Program. 

Step 3

Review credit evaluation results

Once the credit evaluation and UCC-1 search have been completed, you will be notified of the results and what (if any) collateral requirements are due and if any liens need to be amended.

All credit evaluations are good for 12 calendar months. If you fail to enroll Choice or TS customers prior to the expiration of the 12 months, you will need to undergo a new credit evaluation and pay the applicable credit evaluation fee.

Step 4

File Exchange

We conduct business with suppliers of natural gas through an encrypted file exchange. In order to become a supplier on our system, you must conduct system testing to ensure that the integrity of the system and customer data is safe and secure.

To move through the onboarding process, you must provide a key IT contact to conduct testing. Once the key contact has been received and the credit evaluation is complete, we will communicate the requirements and timeline of the required testing. Generally, the testing can take four to six weeks.

To participate in an upcoming file exchange testing, please submit your key IT contact information by the due date to start the process. Our testing due dates are listed below.

• January 2025: Submission due by January 6, 2025
• April 2025: Submission due by April 7, 2025
• July 2025: Submission due by July 7, 2025
• October 2025: Submission due by October 6, 2025

You can submit your information to transportevaluations@nisource.com.

*Testing takes place on a quarterly basis.

Step 1

Attend training

You must review our Choice Supplier training and attend a required touch point call with our Choice, Demand Forecasting, Supply and Capacity, and Nomination Specialists. During the call, team members will provide program updates and answer supplier inquiries.

Required touch point call will be held on the following dates at 9 a.m. ET:

• January 8, 2025
• April 8, 2025
• July 8, 2025
• October 7, 2025

Choice Supplier training

Step 2

Be approved to do business and deliver gas

You must be approved to do business in the Commonwealth of Virginia, licensed by the State Corporation Commission, and set-up to deliver gas on the following pipelines:

• TransCanada Columbia Gulf Transmission, 1-866-485-3427
• TransCanada Columbia Gas Transmission LLC, 1-800-835-7191

Step 3

Complete and submit documents

After we've received notification that you have been licensed by the State Corporation Commission to participate in the Choice program, you will need to submit the following documents electronically to your assigned representative:

• Virginia Competitive Service Provider Agreement
• Virginia Purchase of Receivables Agreement
• ACH Form
• W-9
• Virginia Rate Code Request Form

Please do NOT fill out the date on any of these documents.

Step 4

Obtain access to Aviator

We use Aviator, an interactive web-based application, to enable you perform services, such as arranging for the transportation of gas on our system.

• Aviator User ID's are required by any party seeking access to the Aviator website
• Aviator Master ID's are only required by parties seeking to assign additional User ID's for others in their company
• Use an Aviator Amendment to update your Aviator User ID or Aviator Master ID
• Use Master User ID Agreement-Attachment A for multiple PSIDs (Meters)

Step 5

Meet minimum requirements and send preliminary customer lists

You must meet minimum requirements of 100 customers or a customer group consisting of 10,000 Dth. Once you have the required group of customers, email the customer list (including account numbers) to your assigned representative for review. The customer list must be received no later than the 10th of any given month to begin gas flow the following calendar month. 

Step 6

Enroll your customers via File Exchange

Once your representative has reviewed and approved the customer list, you may begin enrolling customers. You must have 100 customers (or corresponding customer group based on usage) enrolled and accepted via File Exchange no later than the 15th of any given month to begin flow the following calendar month.

Step 7

Review rules and regulations

You must adhere to the rules and regulations set forth in the Tariff, as well as the Virginia Revised Code and Gas Supply Operation Plan.

Step 1

Be approved to do business

Step 2

Complete and submit documents

You will need to submit the following documents electronically to your assigned representative and mail the originals to the address provided above: 

• Virginia Aggregation Agreement (only applicable if you will be aggregating customers)

Step 3

Obtain access to Aviator

We use Aviator, an interactive web-based application, to enable you perform services, such as arranging for the transportation of gas on our system.

• Aviator User ID's are required by any party seeking access to the Aviator website
• Aviator Master ID's are only required by parties seeking to assign additional User ID's for others in their company
• Use an Aviator Amendment to update your Aviator User ID or Aviator Master ID
• Use Master User ID Agreement-Attachment A for multiple PSIDs (Meters)

Step 4

Review the Virginia Tariff

Review the Tariff to become knowledgeable of the TS program guidelines and services.