SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

     Washington, D.C. 20549



     Form 8-K

     CURRENT REPORT



     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

     Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) April, 1999

                            NiSource Inc.
          (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

                  Indiana                              35-1719974
           (State or other jurisdiction  (Commission    (IRS Employer
             of incorporation)          File Number)    Identification No.)

     801 E. 86th Avenue, Merrillville,  Indiana 46410-6272 
     (Address of principal
       executive offices)                       (Zip Code)

     Registrant's telephone number, including area code 219/853-5200

    Form 8-K
     

     ITEMS OF INFORMATION


ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS

     (a) On April 14, 1999, the Shareholders of NIPSCO  Industries,  Inc. (NYSE:
NI) voted to change the  energy/utility  holding company's name to NiSource Inc.
(pronounced Nye-source).

     Only the name of the  holding  company has  changed.  The names of Northern
Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Bay State Gas Company and IWC Resources
Corp.,  the Company's  major  subsidiaries,  remain the same.  In addition,  the
Company's New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol, NI, will not change.

     Attached to this Form 8-K is the press  release  dated April 14, 1999 that,
among other things, announced the name change.

     SIGNATURE

The following exhibit is being filed with this Form 8-K:

   2.1     Press release dated April 14, 1999.

     Pursuant to the  requirements  of the Securities  Exchange Act of 1934, the
Company  has  duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on  its  behalf  by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

                                                 NiSource Inc.




                                         By (signed)________________________ 
                                                    Nina M. Rausch 
                                                    Secretary




  April 20, 1999


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                                                 April 14, 1999

                                                          FOR MORE INFORMATION
                                                                Maria P. Hibbs
                                            Director, Corporate Communications
                                                                (219) 647-6201

                                 NIPSCO Industries changes name to NiSource Inc.

Chairman highlights achievements, future direction at annual meeting

     SOUTH BEND, Ind.- Shareholders of NIPSCO Industries, Inc. (NYSE: NI) today
voted to change the  energy/utility  holding  company's  name to  NiSource  Inc.
(pronounced Nye-source).
     "We believe NiSource describes the new direction of the company as a 
multi-state  supplier  of energy and water  resources  and related
services,"  Chairman,  President and Chief Executive  Officer Gary L. Neale told
shareholders at their annual meeting. "In other words, we are delivering life's
essential  resources to our customers - and, in turn,  delivering added value to
our  shareholders."  
     Only the name of the  holding  company has  changed,  Neale noted. The
names of Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO),  Bay State
Gas Company and IWC Resources  Corp., the Company's major  subsidiaries,  remain
the same.
      In addition,  the Company's New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol, NI,
will not change.
      At the meeting, Neale announced that the Company's earnings for
the first quarter of 1999 reached 62 cents per share, compared with 49 cents for
the same  quarter in 1998.  He  attributed  the  improved  earnings  to stronger
operating  results  from  the  Company's  natural  gas,  electricity  and  water
distribution businesses, driven by a return to more normal weather patterns, and
the inclusion of earnings from recently acquired Bay State Gas Company. Improved
performance of the Company's  competitive  products and services businesses also
contributed to the earnings  growth,  Neale said.  
     "You may have heard last week that  you  are  now  a  shareholder  of  a 
Fortune  500  company,"  Neale  told shareholders  gathered at the Century 
Center in  downtown  South Bend.  "In the April 26,  1999,  edition of Fortune
magazine,  you can see that our 22 percent yearly  return to  shareholders
over  each of the last 10 years  makes us No. 1 among all the Fortune 500
utilities."


                                                                -more-


     The challenge,  Neale noted, is to continue to bring outstanding returns to
shareholders in a constantly evolving  energy/utility world and a volatile stock
market. He outlined  NiSource's  focused growth strategy to build a distribution
value  chain  around the  Company's  core  natural  gas,  electricity  and water
distribution  businesses. 
      Neale urged  shareholders and customers to follow the Company's progress
by viewing the new NiSource Web site, which debuts today. The site,  
www.nisource.com,  features stock quotes,  news about NiSource and direct
links  to  subsidiaries'  Web  sites. 
       Neale  also  highlighted  the  Company's commitment  to the  environment,
noting that  NiSource  recently  won the North American Waterfowl  Management
Plan's National Great Blue Heron Award. The award recognizes  that  NiSource is
setting the standard for  corporate  environmental responsibility.
     "We are the first  utility to ever  receive  this award for our land
donations,  contributions to local environmental projects, redevelopment of
brownfields and efforts to reduce emissions," Neale said. 
     At the meeting, Edmund A. Schroer, former chairman and chief executive 
officer of NIPSCO Industries and Northern  Indiana  Public  Service  Company,
retired from the NiSource Board of Directors. Neale thanked Schroer for his 42 
years of leadership,  dedication and distinguished service to the Company.
     Schroer's spot on the 10-member board was filled by the  shareholders'
election  of Roger A. Young,  chairman of Bay State Gas  Company.  NiSource
acquired  Bay  State  on Feb.  12,  1999.  Westborough, Mass.-based  Bay  State
provides  natural  gas  service  to more  than  300,000 customers in 
Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
     More than 81 percent of the 128,627,282  outstanding  shares  of common 
stock  were  voted at the  meeting.
     Shareholders  elected three  directors to the Board of Directors.  They
include: Young; Ian M. Rolland,  retired chairman and chief executive  officer
of Lincoln National Corporation,  Fort Wayne, Ind.; and John W. Thompson,  
general manager, IBM Americas of IBM Corporation,  White Plains, N.Y. Their
terms expire in 2002.
     Other directors of NiSource include:  Dr. Steven C. Beering,  president, 
Purdue University,  West Lafayette, Ind.; Arthur J. Decio, chairman and chief
executive officer of Skyline Corporation,  Elkhart, Ind.; James T. Morris, 
chairman, chief executive officer and president of IWC Resources Corp., a
NiSource company based in  Indianapolis;  Neale;  Denis E. Ribordy,  vice
chairman of the Chicago Motor Club and retired president of Ribordy Drugs; 
Robert J. Welsh, chairman and chief executive officer of Welsh,  Inc., 
Merrillville,  Ind.; and Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo, Gillen Dean and Siegfried
Professor of  Management  at the  University of Notre Dame College of Business
Administration,  South Bend,  Ind. 
     Shareholders  also approved the Company's  Amended and Restated 1988 and 
1994  Long-Term  Incentive Plans.
     NiSource, based in Merrillville, Ind., is a holding company whose primary
business  is the  distribution  of  electricity,  natural  gas and  water in the
Midwest and Northeast  United States.  The company also markets utility services
and  customer-focused  resource solutions along a corridor stretching from Texas
to Maine.  Information  about NiSource and its subsidiaries is available via the
Internet at www.nisource.com. 
                             ### 
Note to Editors: The full text of Gary Neale's remarks to shareholders is
available via the NiSource Web site.  Click on "About Us" and view the press
release listings.