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Good afternoon, everyone.

I am delighted to be here and humbled to have the opportunity to address so many talented and accomplished people gathered in one location.

I am Lloyd Yates, the chief executive officer of NiSource, a post I assumed early in early 2022.  NiSource is a leading natural gas and electric utility company that serves nearly 4 million customers across six states through our Columbia Gas and NIPSCO subsidiaries.

You know us here as Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, which is headquartered in Canonsburg and provides energy to more than 440,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers.  We serve 450 communities in 26 counties across the commonwealth through our greater York, State College, and Western Pennsylvania service territories – and invest approximately $350 million in Pennsylvania every year.

You will also be glad to know that the members of our Pennsylvania workforce earn competitive salaries in a broad variety of good-paying jobs – ranging from engineers to accountants to field technicians to customer service professionals.  And they are proud to serve their communities.

And I share in that pride.  For those of you who may not be aware, I am a Pennsylvania native.  I spent my growing-up years in Norristown, PA, about five miles from Philadelphia.

During my first years in high school, I’ll admit that I preferred hanging out with my friends as opposed to working in school. I was not a very good student.  Fortunately, I had very good parents who put a strong emphasis on the importance of education, work, and ethics.  Thanks to them – and my own personal fascination for repairing things – I finally decided during high school that I would set my sights on an engineering career.  I was good at math and science, so I began hitting the books and started working toward that goal.

Long story short, my academic performance improved, and after high school, I headed off to this end of the state, earned a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland, where I was able to excel, and later returned to Philadelphia to earn an MBA at St. Joseph’s.

All in all, it was a long trip for a kid from Norristown – and thanks to the encouragement of my parents, and that of various teachers, sponsors, and mentors along the way, I was able to do OK.

As it turned out, I have spent pretty much my entire career in the energy business—more than 40 years.   From my early years learning the ropes in the utility industry at PECO Energy in southeastern Pennsylvania—all the way to executive positions at Progress Energy and at Duke Energy.

In my current role, I am proud to say that I have the honor and privilege of working with 7,500 dedicated Columbia Gas and NIPSCO employees who understand that people and communities – and that means customers and employees alike – come first in everything we do.  And that’s a good jumping-off place for what I’ve come here to talk about today.

In fact, one of the most compelling characteristics of NiSource – and one which attracted me to this company – is that our focus on people, both inside and outside the company, is fundamental to our efforts to establish and maintain our role as a premier energy provider.

So, how do we make this happen?

Internally, we concentrate on creating an environment that allows and encourages each employee to reach their full potential and ensures that they feel comfortable in pursing that personal growth within a corporate setting.

This also requires a degree of structural change.  At NiSource, we have integrated our commitment to individual growth – call it a talent strategy – into every aspect of our corporate strategy.  This has resulted in a more dynamic business plan, one that is capable of advancing our overall business objectives in a far more efficient and productive way – and in a people-centered way that constantly strengthens our ability to prepare for and address future needs and challenges.

By working to enhance and expand our pool of talent, strengthening support for our front-line leaders, and fostering a culture of accountability across the ranks, we are cultivating a workforce that is more able to quickly adapt to the rapidly changing requirements of the energy industry.

We also work to ensure that every member of the NiSource team has a place at the table and has the opportunity to voice concerns, propose new ideas, and interact with others.  And as I have mentioned, our people-centered approach does not end at our front door but rather extends out into the communities we serve.

Now, I’d like to take a deeper look at our main focus this afternoon by expanding on the topic of equity and examining some of the tactics that individuals and organizations can pursue to translate their commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion into real-life actions that can change and improve the lives of people in disadvantaged and marginalized communities – as well as the lives of all those who participate in the process.

My own company, NiSource, has designed and implemented a comprehensive Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) strategy that is integrated throughout our organization.  And while we continue to fine-tune our approach, it is clearly helping us to achieve our DEI objectives.

Of course, every organization’s situation is unique.  But I also believe that our model has value as a basic blueprint that others can examine when creating their own DEI road maps.

So, here are the fundamentals.

At the most basic level, NiSource focuses intently on promoting inclusive behaviors and values, both internally and externally.  These include safety, trust, respect, accountability, inclusion, and a caring attitude.

By adhering to these values and behaviors, we are able to cultivate an inclusive, more rewarding environment not only for our own employees but also for our business partners.  And promoting these attributes and instilling them across our operations has the effect of strengthening our commitment to the customers and communities we serve.

I am sure everyone here has seen certain parties characterize DEI as some sort of concession or handout, rather than as the competitive advantage it is.  But as all of us here know, DEI opens the door to new ideas and perspectives and promotes a more caring, energized workforce – both of which help to drive organizational success.

When it comes to DEI, a utility company has a certain starting advantage in that it understands that its business in some way touches every member of the communities it serves.  That is why at NiSource, for example, we understand that we are not only a commercial entity, but also a social and community enterprise.  And that means we have a certain responsibility to ensure that our workforce and suppliers – and the services we provide – reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.

Our company also works to ensure that the business activities we pursue internally also have the effect of benefiting all parts of the communities we serve.  This means supporting our diverse and unique customers, making sure that customers on the margins receive the energy they need, and increasing supplier diversity.

It also means investing in community-driven economic initiatives in partnership with states, localities, and nonprofit organizations.  In short, this means valuing the dignity and rights of all concerned parties.

So, let’s take a closer look at some of the key parts of the paradigm.

When it comes to diverse advancement within an organization, opening the door is just the first step.  I have found from my own experience that it is very difficult to climb the corporate ladder without the assistance of someone who is willing to give you a push or a hand up.

Mentorship, of course, is important.  But sponsorship is better.  People have done it for me, and now I try to return the favor by doing it for others.

I am sure that everyone has known a very talented, hardworking person – someone with all the brains in the world who can tell you every technical detail of the business or organization in question – who nonetheless has spent his or her career sitting at the same desk.  They can’t move ahead.  That’s because it’s often difficult to advance on hard work and skill alone, particularly in a large organization.

But, with the guidance of a caring sponsor – someone who offers advice, friendship, and insight along the way – that same individual can gain the ability to crack the unspoken codes that every entity has, see the way forward, and leverage their talents to rise through the ranks.  It also is exceptionally important to have someone on your side who will promote you to others when you are not in the room.

Of course, as I noted, diverse candidates first have to get through the door.  Once we have accomplished that, an entity needs to ensure that it does enough to ensure that those employees are sufficiently equipped to advance and succeed.  Offering them encouragement and ongoing training not only provides them with a greater incentive to excel, but also increases the likelihood that those employees will stay onboard for the long haul, and then provide a leg up for other diverse candidates who come in behind them.

It's also important for organizations to listen to the concerns of all employees.  That means soliciting employee feedback through things like focus groups, surveys, and other tools, and encouraging them to share ideas for advancing the organization.  NiSource also maintains internal employee resource groups created to support and provide professional opportunities to specific segments of our workforce.

At NiSource, we also work to promote socially inclusive growth by filling skills gaps in our communities through efforts like our energy workforce development initiatives – educational programs aimed at building our company’s future workforce.  This includes things like paid Summer Youth Energy Ambassador internships provided in partnership with organizations like the Urban League and NAACP.

It is also absolutely imperative for companies to increase the diversity of their contractors.  I like to call this economic inclusion.  That’s why – as part of our efforts to promote diversity – NiSource plans to increase the share of its overall supplier spending that goes to diverse suppliers to 25 percent by 2025.  Awarding an increased share of that spending to diverse suppliers will strengthen their ability to win larger contracts – contracts that can have a more significant impact on our company, our stakeholders, and their communities.  As part of this initiative, we also are improving our training and progress-monitoring procedures, as well as revising the processes we use to engage and partner with diverse suppliers.

But sometimes suitable diverse contractors may not be available.  In some of those cases, we have found it beneficial to lend a hand by developing and mentoring a promising diversity company.

In one example, Columbia Gas of Maryland – while looking for contractors to do a specialty construction project – took the unorthodox step of hiring a diverse third-party engineering firm - A-Zone Environmental Services – that had reasonable pricing compared to the other bidders on the project, but little experience in this particular field.  Columbia Gas took the opportunity to develop this firm by hiring a third-party engineering firm to help teach them this new line of business.  So, instead of paying the highest price bidder who had a lot of experience, Columbia Gas hired the less expensive, less experienced diverse contractor and used the money we saved by not hiring the higher bidder to fund an engineering firm to help open up a new line of business for the diverse contractor.  This is what I mean by sponsorship – thinking of new ways to open doors to co-workers and businesses alike.

We have another diverse company, the Desoto Group in Washington, Pennsylvania, where it has been in the construction and T/D business for a long time.  We are now mentoring them and grooming them in the gas distribution business, where we spend about half of our capital, and they have subsequently committed to hiring from local communities to support their growth.

The fact is that even though the utility industry in the U.S. spends about $150 billion dollars per year on the infrastructure, a small portion of those dollars go to diverse companies.  We will do better.

Admittedly, NiSource has an advantage in that it is large enough to be able to help develop contractors in ways that a smaller company may not be able to manage.  Consequently, in this case we were able to take advantage of our size and scale to help promote systemic change.  We are making significant progress in this area, and I am proud of that fact.

As someone who has spent his career working in the utility industry, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that there’s another important reason for energy providers to work closely with businesses and communities to strengthen local economies – one that is inseparably tied to another kind of diversity.

I am referring to our nation’s shift to a more diverse mix of energy sources.  The fact is that we will be able to design a thorough path forward that addresses the diverse needs and concerns of all stakeholders only if we bring everyone – businesses, communities, and individual consumers of all income levels – into the conversation.

This is our shared energy future.

As such, we must ensure that everyone reaps the best possible economic benefit from this transition.  All Americans across the economic spectrum must have equal access to a safe, reliable, and sustainable supply of energy – produced in a way that protects the planet by using ecologically sound energy sources such as wind, solar, renewable natural gas, hydrogen, and other sources.

As I noted earlier in this presentation, even as we work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve over overall environmental performance – we still need to provide today’s customers with an uninterrupted supply of affordable energy.

It is a simple fact that we need reliable energy to satisfy our basic needs.  We need it to drive economic growth and help to alleviate poverty.  And any plan that lays out how we will source, produce, and use that energy also must address our diverse needs and perspectives, because that plan will have consequences that will resonate for generations.

In the meantime, of course, commercial and industrial enterprises still need energy to conduct their operations.  And individual consumers still need to heat their homes and cook their meals.  That’s why natural gas remains a critical part of today’s energy mix.  It provides economic stability to all stakeholders while we diversify our energy infrastructure.

And natural gas is still our most affordable option.  Last year, an average customer using natural gas to heat their home in Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania’s territory spent about 7 percent less per year than someone heating their home with electricity.  And, at this current point in time, natural gas heating equipment also remains far more affordable for residential customers, with the estimated cost of installing a high-efficiency gas furnace coming in at less than half the cost of installing a cold-climate electric heat pump.

Our region is fortunate in that Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the entire United States, responsible for the production of about 20 percent of the nation’s natural gas.  And while we don’t drill for gas ourselves, we’re glad to be able to distribute the gas that allows you to warm your homes and cook your food.

Natural gas also complements our efforts to reduce greenhouse gases.  You may not be aware that, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, our state’s greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by 20 percent since 2005 – and the biggest driver of that reduction is the use of natural gas to generate electricity.

Moreover, total greenhouse gas emissions from residential use here also have dropped by about 20 percent – even though the number of Pennsylvania gas utility customers has increased by 150,000 since 2008.

Natural gas continues to be the workhorse that gets the job done, while the energy industry brings new technologies online.  These new solutions include highly efficient gas-powered heat pumps that work efficiently in sub-zero temperatures, and fuel cells to power your home by converting natural gas directly into electricity without combustion and with no major emissions. These new technologies make it an exciting time to be the energy industry.

So, rest assured that our company will work to the best of our ability to keep everyone here in Western Pennsylvania safe and warm in your homes.  And we will make sure that you will have a hot shower and a hot meal on your table as we all join together to identify and address inequities that continue to exist in our ever more diverse society.

In closing, I want to assure Doris and the Chamber, the honorable Mayor Gainey, and all of you here today that NiSource and Columbia Gas will do all we can to promote and address the needs of our disadvantaged and marginalized communities – not only here in my home state – but in every region we serve.

Thank you very much for your time.  It’s been my pleasure to be here with you today. Go Pirates!