Iowa’s largest utility hopes to raise its electric rates. MidAmerican Energy is asking the state utilities board for its first base-rate increase since 1995. If approved, residential customers will pay nearly $3 more a month, on average, starting in August.
It’ll be $8 more a month by 2016, compared to the current rate. MidAmerican officials say the rate hike has nothing to do with last week’s announcement of a near-two-billion dollar investment in building hundreds more wind turbines.
The company says the new crop of turbines should reduce bills one-percent by 2017.