(Updated) The City of Decorah's Municipal Electric Utility Task Force and Alliant Energy respond to the IUB staff ruling

(In the wake of the Iowa Utilities Board staff's decision to ask the IUB Board to rule on a dispute involving the City of Decorah's request for data for a municipal electric utility study, both the City MEU Task Force and Alliant Energy have issued statements). Said Decorah Municipal Electric Utility Task Force Chair Carly Hayden Foster: "The City of Decorah's Municipal Electric Utility task force is encouraged by the Iowa Utility Board staff's recent response to our request for data from Alliant. On Tuesday, April 5th, the IUB staff recommended that the Iowa Utilities Board open a formal complaint docket to evaluate Decorah's data request. The MEU Task Force is particularly encouraged that the IUB staff reminded the IUB board of the board's statement in RPU-2019-0001 (the last Alliant rate case), that the Board 'possesses the authority over regulated entities to ensure the accuracy of information presented during the municipalization process.' We were also heartened to see that the IUB staff recognized Decorah's argument about the value of an 'up-to-date common dataset to work from' as the city's task force considers whether or not a Municipal Electric Utility might be in the best interests of our community. While we wait for the IUB's next steps, Decorah's MEU task force will continue to work on gathering information regarding the potential advantages and disadvantages of a Municipal Electric Utility for Decorah." Meanwhile, Alliant Energy Community Development Manager Mike Wagner has issued a statement in response to Tuesday's decision by Iowa Utilities Board staff to have the full IUB Board make the decision on a disagreement between the City of Decorah and Alliant Energy: "We continue to believe the city's complaint – informal or formal – must be dismissed as a matter of law. Iowa code clearly states that this process is allowable only after a vote by the people. Alliant Energy continues to focus on serving its customers and building stronger communities. We look forward to working with Decorah on renewable energy projects and economic development partnerships that benefit the community. The success of the EV charging project is just one example of what we can do when we work together."