Alliant rate increase proposal draws support, criticism at public comment meeting

Comments were nearly equally split between supporters and opponents as the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) hosted a public comment session Monday night, Nov. 6 at the Hotel at Kirkwood Center on Alliant Energy’s proposal to raise its electrical and natural gas rate across the state. Alliant Energy’s Iowa utility company, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), filed a request with the IUB Oct. 12 to adjust its electric and natural gas rate, beginning in late 2024. The company is requesting a 7.7% (approximately $10 per month) increase to the average residential electric customer’s total bill beginning in October 2024 and a second phase increase of 5.7% (approximately $7 per month) to take effect beginning in October 2025. Including all electric customer classes – commercial, industrial and residential – the proposal results in an approximately 9% increase to the average electric customer’s total bill in October 2024 and a second phase increase of approximately 7% beginning in October 2025. For IPL’s natural gas customers, the company is requesting a 5% increase (approximately $3 per month) to the average residential gas customer’s total bill in October 2024. The utility says it’s proposing new electric rates to be phased in over approximately two years as a means of “prioritizing customer affordability.” The overall impact on customer bills will vary, depending on actual energy used and final rates approved by the IUB after a series of hearings. All told, Alliant’s requested electrical rate increase would bring in $284 million in additional service revenue, or about 16% above the company’s existing electric revenue requirement. The natural gas request would bring revenue of $14 million, or about 5% above the existing gas revenue requirement. The utility’s last rate increase  was approved in 2019.

Monday’s public comment session on the rate increase drew just over 50 area residents, as well as several representatives from the IUB, Alliant Energy and the state’s Office of Consumer Advocate. May Farlinger, vice president for customer and community engagement at Alliant Energy, said the rate increases would allow Alliant to continue providing safe reliable electrical and gas services, allow the utility to improve its resiliency by continuing its efforts to move service lines underground and adding more high-capacity lines to its network, and further develop renewable energy sources such as solar and wind generation. She also noted that the company has faced several challenges in recent years, from the economic downturn to the COVID-19 pandemic. Another crisis, the August 2020 derecho, required the company to replace more than 3,600 poles and 6 million feet of power lines across the state.

“Our purpose is really simple,” she said. “It's to serve customers and build stronger communities.” One commenter, Randy Walker of Cedar Rapids, questioned the size of Alliant’s rate request and said the increases would present a significant financial burden for many local residents, especially those on fixed incomes. “Alliant Energy has the third highest rate of any utility company in the state of Iowa,” he said. “I do think their ability to have revenue adequacy is a good thing. I'm not opposed to it. When you talk about safe, reliable energy, we're all for it. But we want affordable energy also.” He also said he felt deregulation would force utility companies to provide more affordable energy rates to their customers. Another commenter, John Zakrasek of Cedar Rapids, who serves as a board member of the Linn Clean Energy District, also said he felt competition would bring lower utility rates. "I would love to see Alliant Energy compete with MidAmerican (Energy) and bring the rates down even lower than MidAmerican,” Mr. Zakrasek said. "If I was looking to locate a business in Iowa, and it was very energy-intensive, I'd be looking to locate in MidAmerican territory. That's not what we want. So a very competitive rate is important to me.” John Myers of Marion, executive director of Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids, said Alliant has been a corporate partner with the ICNC since the early 1990s and helped the group install its first solar array in 1992. Another investment came In 2016, when Alliant supported an expanded solar energy operation at ICNC, helping the group’s new headquarters become a “net-zero” energy facility. “I'm here tonight to thank Alliant for their partnership, not just for their financial contributions to the Nature Center but for all the people that work to advance sustainable technologies,” Mr. Myers said. “Indian Creek Nature Center really believes in our mission, and Alliant has been there to help us create that.” Allen Mallie, who farms north of Mount Vernon, said his farm has a 40-kilowatt solar array that helps him control expenses and that he is leasing land to Alliant for a solar feasibility study. “When working with Alliant, they are honest, open and truthful about all questions asked of them,” Mr. Mallie said. “I have always been met with professionalism, understanding and commitment to make things better for my family, my business and my community.” AARP Iowa released a media statement Monday regarding the proposed rate hike:

AARP Iowa opposes the excessive rate increase proposal from Interstate Power & Light Company (IPL) – a subsidiary of Alliant Energy – that will increase natural gas and electric rates by nearly $300 million over the next two years; an increase for residential consumers of 13% for electricity and 5% for gas. The rate increase request recently made to the Iowa Utilities Board would mean that residential electric customers will see an increase in electric and gas service of approximately $250 per year for these essential services.

Utility rates are an essential pocketbook issue that affect Iowa residents across the state, many of whom struggle to pay their utility bills, along with other critical household expenses. The economic effects of inflation and other pressures continue to jeopardize Iowans’ finances and more must be done to help families maintain access to power at home. AARP Iowa is opposing this rate increase on behalf of its members and Iowa residents 50-plus.

AARP is urging Iowans to fight back against Alliant Energy’s proposal to raise customers’ natural gas and electric rates.

Additional in-person public comment sessions are slated in Clear Lake Tuesday night and in Creston Wednesday. A virtual comment session is set for 6 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9. Details about participating online and at the customer comment meetings are available on the IUB’s website, iowa.gov. Following the public comment periods and other evidentiary proceedings, including testimony from all parties involved in the case, board member Josh Byrnes said an evidentiary hearing in the case is expected to be held sometime in April or May 2024. A final decision is generally rendered within 10 months after the rate case application filing date, which would place the board's decision sometime in August 2024. The board will issue a written order with its decision to grant, modify or reject the proposed rate increase, Mr. Byrnes said. All publicly filed documents for the Alliant Energy rate cases are available for review in the IUB’s electronic filing system under Docket No. RPU-2023-0002.