Alliant Energy electric customers will soon see a refund showing up on their bill. The Iowa Utilities Board recently approved a rate increase for Alliant of 8.5%, which is below the interim rate the company began charging last March as it waited for a ruling on its request.
Alliant Spokesman Scott Drzycimski says the new rate is two and a half percent less than what customers have been paying for the last year. “Because those rates were slightly lower than what the interim rates were set at, customers will get a refund. Basically the pool of the refund was about four million dollars when you split that among customers it will end up being about five or six dollars,” Drzycimski says.
Alliant inherited customers from three other companies that all had different rate structures. Drzycimski says the company has been trying to create a standard rate across its territory, so the overall rate increase will actually range from five to 12-percent depending on the region.
Drzycimski says over the last five years they have been adjusting customer rates so that beginning with implementation of final rates this week, all customers no matter where they live in the state will pay the same price. Drzycimski says the increase will cover the cost of utility upgrades and the recent expansion to renewable energy including the construction of a wind farm. He says when the new uniform rate is in place, an Alliant customer’s average monthly bill will be around $99.