(Des Moines)– The Iowa Utilities Board today (Thurs.) issued it’s final decision and order regarding a request from Alliant Energy/Interstate Power and Light Company to increase electric rates.
The company had originally sought a permanent annual revenue increase of about $203.6 million, however a partial settlement announced on October 3rd of last year reduced that to $127 million, along with a return on equity of 9.5 percent.
Today’s order from the I-U-B approves a refund of $7.5 million for customers who paid interim rates and increases the monthly customer charge from $11.50 to $13.00 for residential customers and from $19 to $20 for general service customers.
It also sets a monthly fee of $4.06 for customers who opt out of having an advanced metering system but does not allow Alliant to charge a fee to customers who choose a “reduced-pulse meter”. The ruling also allows for a renewable energy rider to appear as a line item on customer’s bills to recover the cost of Alliant Energy’s New Wind One and Two projects which are to go into service later this year.
The order also establishes a regulatory principle that the return on equity on interim rates cannot be higher than the return on equity for proposed final rates.
The I-U-B also cited evidence in the rate case that Alliant has not efficiently managed customer relations and is requiring the company to file an improvement plan and review its internal processes.
The I-U-B says it received more than 5,600 written and public comments in the electric rate case. The Board held 10 public hearings on the matter in the spring of 2019 throughout Alliant’s Iowa service territory.
