Filed by:  NiSource Inc.
                    Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933

                                  Subject Company:  Columbia Energy Group
                                Registration Statement File No: 333-33896

        On August 22, 2000, NiSource Inc. has appointed several key
   leaders to be in place at its pipeline and its exploration and
   production units upon completion of its $6 billion merger with
   Columbia Energy Group.  The text of the press release is set forth
   below.


                            TEXT OF PRESS RELEASE
                               AUGUST 22, 2000



   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

   FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

   Maria Hibbs     Karl Brack                    Jim Dissen
   NiSource Inc.   Columbia Gas Transmission     Columbia Natural Resources
   219-647-6201    304-357-2396                  304-353-5102



     NISOURCE ANNOUNCES POST-MERGER LEADERSHIP FOR PIPELINE OPERATIONS;
                  HARMON TO HEAD COLUMBIA NATURAL RESOURCES

        MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (August 22, 2000) - NiSource Inc. has
   appointed several key leaders to be in place at its pipeline and
   exploration and production units upon completion of its $6 billion
   merger with Columbia Energy Group, which was announced Feb. 28 and is
   expected to close by year-end.

        W. HENRY HARMON will remain President of Columbia Natural
   Resources, Inc., the natural gas exploration and production business
   headquartered in Charleston, W.Va.  Harmon will report to James K.
   Abcouwer, who will be NiSource's senior vice president of Merchant
   Energy Services in the combined company.  Columbia Natural Resources
   is one of the largest producers of natural gas and oil in the
   Appalachian Basin, with holdings that include the equivalent of 860
   billion cubic feet of gas reserves, produced from 8,000 wells, and
   more than 5,400 miles of natural gas gathering pipelines.

        W. HARRIS MARPLE, currently senior vice president for Field
   Services for Columbia's pipeline operations, will continue in that
   role as senior vice president of Operations for both Columbia Gas
   Transmission and Columbia Gulf Transmission, as well as for NiSource's
   Crossroads Pipeline Company and NiSource's investment in Portland
   Natural Gas Transmission System. Marple will remain based at
   Columbia's pipeline operations and commercial support center in



   Charleston, with responsibility for the operations, engineering and
   technical support of a 17,000-mile interstate natural gas pipeline
   system stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the U.S. Midwest and
   Northeast.

        The company also announced today that GLEN L. KETTERING senior
   vice president for Customer Services at Columbia Gas Transmission
   Corp., has been named president of the natural gas pipeline unit.  A
   Charleston native, Kettering will be based at the company's Fair
   Lakes, Va., office.

        TERRANCE L. MCGILL also will continue in the role of president of
   Columbia Gulf Transmission Co. in Houston, Texas.

        All three of the pipeline officers will report to CATHERINE G.
   ABBOTT, who will become president of Pipeline Operations when the
   merger is completed.  Her appointment was announced Aug. 1.

        "Columbia's pipeline operations and Columbia Natural Resources
   are important elements in NiSource's strategy to serve the energy-
   intensive geographic corridor stretching from the Gulf Coast through
   Chicago to New England.  We intend to continue the long and successful
   partnership that the Columbia companies have had with West Virginia
   and the other states in which we will have operations," said Gary L.
   Neale, NiSource chairman, president and chief executive officer.

        Once the merger is completed, NiSource will serve more than 3.6
   million gas and electric customers primarily located in nine states.
   Its operations will span the high-growth energy corridor extending
   from the Gulf of Mexico through Chicago to New England, creating the
   largest natural gas distributor east of the Rockies, with wholesale
   and retail electric operations.

        The NiSource/Columbia merger is on target to close by the end of
   2000, pending approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
   The combination was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory
   Commission in July, following necessary state actions regarding the
   companies' distribution companies in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland,
   Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Ohio, Maine and New Hampshire.  The
   transaction also recently cleared the waiting period under the Hart-
   Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act at the U.S. Department of
   Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.  Shareholders of both
   companies approved the merger in June.

        NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) is a holding company with headquarters
   in Merrillville, Ind., whose primary business is the distribution of
   electricity, natural gas and water in the Midwest and Northeastern
   United States.  The company also markets utility services and
   customer-focused resource solutions along a corridor from Texas


   through Chicago to Maine.  More information about the company is
   available on the Internet at www.nisource.com.

        Columbia Energy Group (NYSE: CG), based in Herndon, Va., is one
   of the nation's leading energy services companies.  Its operating
   companies engage in nearly all phases of the natural gas business,
   including exploration and production, transmission, storage and
   distribution, as well as propane and petroleum product sales and
   electric power generation.  More information about Columbia is
   available on the Internet at www.columbiaenergygroup.com.

        This release contains forward-looking statements within the
        meaning of the federal securities laws.  These forward-looking
        statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. The
        factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from
        the projections, forecasts, estimates and expectations discussed
        herein include factors that are beyond the companies' ability to
        control or estimate precisely, such as estimates of future market
        conditions, the behavior of other market participants and the
        actions of federal and state regulators.

        Other factors include, but are not limited to, actions in the
        financial markets, weather conditions, economic conditions in the
        two companies' service territory, fluctuations in energy-related
        commodity prices, conversion activity, other marketing efforts
        and other uncertainties.  These and other risk factors are
        detailed from time to time in the two companies' SEC reports.
        Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these
        forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of
        this release.  The companies do not undertake any obligation to
        publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking
        statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of
        the document.

        In addition to other documents filed with the Securities and
        Exchange Commission by the two companies, NiSource and the new
        holding company have filed a registration statement, which
        contains a joint proxy statement for NiSource and Columbia Energy
        Group.  The final joint proxy statement/prospectus, dated April
        24, 2000, is available and has been distributed to the companies'
        shareholders.  Investment and security holders are urged to read
        the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents
        filed with the SEC because they contain important information.
        Investors and security holders may receive the joint proxy
        statement/prospectus and other documents free of charge at the
        SEC's Web site, www.sec.gov, from NiSource Investor Relations at
        801 East 86th Avenue, Merrillville, Indiana 46410 or at its Web
        site, www.nisource.com, or from Columbia Investor Relations at
        13880 Dulles Corner Lane, Herndon, Virginia 20171 or at its Web
        site, www.columbiaenergygroup.com.

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