Filed by:  New 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 announced that Kenneth M. Margossian
   will become executive vice president and chief operating officer of
   its Bay State Gas and Northern Utilities subsidiaries upon completion
   of NiSource's $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           Don DiNunno
   NiSource Inc.         Bay State Gas Company
   219-647-6201          508-836-7376


                  NiSource Announces Post-Merger Leadership
             Margossian to Lead Bay State Gas Company Operations

        MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (August 22, 2000) - NiSource Inc. has
   announced that Kenneth M. Margossian will become executive vice
   president and chief operating officer of its Bay State Gas and
   Northern Utilities subsidiaries upon completion of NiSource's $6
   billion merger with Columbia Energy Group, which is expected to close
   by year-end.

        Margossian, senior vice president, Operations, at the
   Westborough, Mass.-based gas company will report to Robert Skaggs, who
   was named president and chief executive officer for Bay State Gas
   Company, Columbia Gas of Ohio and Columbia Gas of Kentucky. Skaggs
   will report to Jeffrey Yundt, President of Energy Distribution for
   NiSource.

        "New England continues to be a key component of NiSource's
   strategy to create a super-regional gas distribution powerhouse
   throughout the Midwest and into the Northeast," said Gary L. Neale,
   NiSource chairman, president and chief executive officer.

        "Ken Margossian is a proven leader," Yundt said.  "His talents
   will prove invaluable during this time of change in the industry and
   our company. Ken is a great fit for this role."





        Bay State Gas serves more than 250,000 customers in
   Massachusetts. Northern Utilities serves more than 50,000 customers
   in Maine and New Hampshire.

        The new 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 that extends 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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