EX 99-1
                                                     News
                                                     Release


                                                     Vectren Corporation
                                                     P.O. Box 209
                                                     Evansville, IN  47702-0209

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 16, 2004

Contact:  Media - Jeff Whiteside, (812) 491-4205 or jwhiteside@vectren.com
Investor Relations - Steve Schein, (812) 491-4209 or sschein@vectren.com

                         Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio
                  seeks approval of new natural gas base rates

Dayton, Ohio -- Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio (VEDO), a subsidiary of Vectren
Corporation (NYSE: VVC), issued a pre-filing notice today to the Public
Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) of a request to adjust base rates and
charges for VEDO's gas distribution business in a 17-county region covering west
central Ohio. If the filing is approved, VEDO expects to increase base rates by
approximately $25 million to cover the ongoing cost of operating, maintaining
and expanding the approximately 5,200-mile distribution system used to serve
more than 310,000 customers.

The official application is expected to be filed in late May.

If approved, the typical VEDO residential customer who uses natural gas to heat
his/her home would see less than an 8 percent increase on the annual bill total.
VEDO's request is subject to review and approval by the PUCO.

Today's base rate filing marks the first time in 13 years a request has been
filed for a base ("non-gas-costs") rate increase for the VEDO customer base.
During this time period, operations have been managed efficiently to avoid an
increase in "non-gas costs." However, investments made to serve VEDO customers
have exceeded $135 million, and those investments are not reflected in current
base rates. Also, health care, labor and other operating costs continue to
generate upward pressure on expenses, and a new federal law related to natural
gas pipeline safety will result in a significant increase in costs.

"It has been about 13 years since the last adjustment in our customers' base
rates. Given this passage of time, an increase is needed to recover the costs
associated with providing our customers with safe and reliable gas service. The
primary driver is the significant investment in infrastructure upgrades over
this time period," said President of Vectren Energy Delivery of Ohio, Steve
Bramlage. "A strong utility infrastructure is critical to west central Ohio's
continued economic growth. Adjusting our base rates to reflect this investment
is important to our efforts to continue to attract the necessary capital to
sustain and promote the service reliability that is critical to our customers."

The petition only addresses VEDO's "non-gas costs," which represent between 25
and 30 cents of every dollar paid by customers for their gas service. These
"non-gas costs" are incurred to build, operate and

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maintain the pipes, other equipment and systems that are used to deliver gas
across VEDO's system to its customers. The remaining 70 to 75 cents of each
dollar represents the cost of the gas used by customers. That gas is purchased
on the wholesale market by VEDO on behalf of its customers, and its purchasing
actions are subject to ongoing regulatory scrutiny by the PUCO under the state's
Gas Cost Recovery (GCR) procedures to ensure those actions are reasonable. Under
Ohio regulation, VEDO is not allowed to make a profit on the cost of gas.

The filing also includes a conservation tariff that heightens the company's
promotion of home weatherization and energy conservation. The tariff provides
resources for consumers to decrease natural gas usage through energy efficiency
measures, and it allows the company to proactively sponsor conservation.

VEDO serves all or a portion of Auglaize, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Clinton,
Darke, Fayette, Greene, Highland, Logan, Madison, Miami, Montgomery, Pickaway,
Preble, Shelby and Warren counties.

About Vectren Corporation
Vectren Corporation is an energy and applied technology holding company
headquartered in Evansville, Indiana. Vectren's regulated energy delivery
subsidiaries provide gas and/or electricity to nearly one million customers in
adjoining service territories that cover nearly two-thirds of Indiana and west
central Ohio. Vectren's non-regulated subsidiaries and affiliates currently
offer energy-related products and services to customers throughout the midwest
and southeast. These include gas marketing and related services; coal production
and sales; utility infrastructure services; and broadband communication
services. To learn more about Vectren, visit www.vectren.com.

Safe Harbor for Forward Looking Statements
This document contains forward-looking statements, which are based on
management's beliefs and assumptions that derive from information currently
known by management. Vectren wishes to caution readers that actual results could
differ materially from those contained in this document. Additional detailed
information concerning a number of factors that could cause actual results to
differ materially from the information that is provided to you is readily
available in our report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission on February 26, 2004.