Customers of Alliant Energy will soon receive a notice about proposed rate increases

Guest Editorial by Jim Martin-Schramm, Policy Analyst, Clean Energy Districts of Iowa Customers of Alliant Energy will soon receive a notice about proposed rate increases for its electric and natural gas utility services. The company has informed the Iowa Utilities Board that it intends to send out the notices on October 11, 2023. The notices are expected to be sent to customers via email or First-Class Mail depending on how the customer elects to receive their bills. This will be the sixth rate increase for Alliant's electric customers since 2004. The value of Alliant's assets minus accumulated depreciation (rate base) was $1,974,862,593 in 2004. Today, that figure has more than tripled to $6,126,710,733 in 2020. Not surprisingly, Alliant's all-in costs per kilowatt hour for residential customers are consistently among the highest in the state. They are higher than all of the rural electric cooperatives, and they are higher than all but a small handful of the 135 municipal electric utilities in Iowa. Alliant's rates for small businesses and local governments are also higher than the vast majority of Iowa utilities, and their rates for industrial customers are at least 35% higher than their principal competitor, MidAmerican Energy, which has a significant impact on potential economic development in communities served by Alliant. Alliant has informed the Iowa Utilities Board that it intends to file its application to raise rates on October 12. After that, the Board will commence a contested case proceeding that typically takes approximately ten months. Alliant's application to raise rates will be based largely on new investments anticipated by the utility, including new generation projects and grid improvements. When the rate case is filed, CEDI will share more specifics with readers on the drivers of the current proposed increase While the company apparently does not intend to implement an interim rate increase as it has in the past, it does intend to phase in the rate increase starting first in October 2024 and again in October 2025. This appears to be unprecedented in the history of Iowa ratemaking and may require legislative approval of multi-year rate plans. The Iowa Utilities Board has scheduled public comment hearings for November 6 in Cedar Rapids, November 7 in Clear Lake, and November 8 in Creston, Iowa. A virtual hearing will take place on November 9. Customers have the right to file written comments and objections with the Iowa Utilities Board that include any facts that would assist the board in reviewing the proposed rate increases. Comments and objections can be submitted by email to customer@iub.iowa.gov or by mail at Iowa Utilities Board, 1375 E. Court Avenue, Des Moines, IA 50319-0069. Reference Docket RPU-2023-0002 in the subject line of the email or letter. All comments are a matter of public record and available to the Office of Consumer Advocate, which represents the public interest in rate cases before the Iowa Utilities Board.