Des Moines, Iowa — Customers of Alliant Energy in northwest Iowa and around the state could see their electric and gas bills go up by around 25 percent. But Alliant says they’re making upgrades so that power will be less expensive in the future.
According to the Iowa Utilities Board, Alliant Energy-Interstate Power and Light Company (Alliant) has filed applications proposing to increase retail electric and natural gas rates for customers in seven classes. The rate requests include an increase of 24.45 percent to the base rate for residential electric customers and 25 percent to the base rate for residential gas customers beginning in 2020. Base rates account for approximately 66 percent of a residential electric bill and 44 percent of a natural gas bill.
The company also has asked for an interim electric rate increase of nearly $89.9 million among all classes, or approximately 5.5 percent, to begin April 1, 2019.
The IUB will conduct ten public comment meetings in April and May regarding the rate requests. The meetings, scheduled throughout Alliant’s Iowa service territory, provide an opportunity for Alliant customers to express their views about the proposed rate increases and to comment on the overall quality of Alliant’s service. Representatives of Alliant, the IUB, and the Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA) will be present at the meetings to hear public comments and answer questions. The OCA represents the general interests of customers in all IUB proceedings.
The closest meeting in our area will be in Storm Lake at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1st, at the Buena Vista University Science Center.
The IUB is working to arrange for remote participation via an online webinar at one or more of the customer comment meeting venues.
Complete information on the rate increase requests may be viewed in the IUB’s electronic filing system (EFS) under Docket No. RPU-2019-0001(electric) and RPU-2019-0002 (natural gas).
Alliant says they are investing in more wind and grid technologies that advance clean energy and enhance the services they provide. A statement to their customers states, “Expansions in low-cost wind energy, for example, will deliver fuel cost savings, as wind has no associated fuel costs. Wind energy additions will also lower emissions, while driving significant economic benefits to local communities through property taxes to communities and lease payments to landowners.” They say advanced meters will make it easier to detect and respond to outages. They can also provide customers with more control over their energy bills with information about their usage.
On the gas side, Alliant says they plan to operate advanced metering infrastructure to read existing gas meters remotely and monitor the performance of natural gas delivery to further improve safety; perform testing of certain natural gas lines and equipment for preventative maintenance to improve reliability and system efficiency, and increase available capacity, and offer a new, renewable natural gas transportation option for customers to supply renewable natural gas to the distribution system.
Alliant provides electricity in eastern Lyon County including the communities of George and Little Rock, plus the village of Lester, and some area north of Lester. They have a significant area in Osceola County, a small amount of territory in O’Brien County and a very small amount in Sioux County.
