Interstate Power and Light Company Receives Final Approval to Adjust Iowa Retail Electric Rates
January 05 2010 - 7:24PM
PR Newswire (US)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interstate
Power and Light Company (IPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy
Corporation (NYSE:LNT) received an oral decision from the Iowa
Utilities Board (IUB) regarding its request to increase its annual
electric retail revenues. (Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020405/LNTLOGO) In its oral
decision, the IUB approved no additional changes to interim rates
implemented in March 2009 which increased revenues by approximately
$84 million, or 8 percent. However, the IUB approved increased
funding for transmission costs, as well as recovery of Sutherland
Generating Station Unit 4 cancellation costs. The IUB accepted the
proposal presented by IPL and several interveners in the case to
offset a portion of the 2008 and 2009 transmission costs with funds
previously set aside from the sale of the company's transmission
assets, rather than increase customer rates. In addition, the IUB
approved using funds from the Regulatory Liability account from the
sale of the Duane Arnold Energy Center to offset the recovery of
costs associated with the cancelled Sutherland Generating Station
Unit 4 project. The IUB also deferred the company's proposal to
implement an automatic adjustment clause to reflect future price
changes assessed by the company's transmission service provider,
ITC Midwest, LLC. If approved in a subsequent rate case, the
automatic transmission adjustment clause would enable IPL to
recover transmission costs incurred for the benefit of customers in
a more consistent and timely manner. The IUB established a return
on common equity of 10.5 percent for all non-related Emery
Generating Station capital. The return on common equity for Emery
Generating Station-related capital is 12.2 percent. IPL anticipates
that the written decision, which is expected to be issued by the
IUB by January 19, 2010, will provide additional details concerning
the revenue and rate design issues presented in the case. "The
IUB's decision recognizes the challenges our company and customers
have confronted over the past several years," states Tom Aller,
President - IPL. "Over the past five years, our company has
invested more than $600 million in our Iowa electric system and we
expect to continue to invest in Iowa's energy future to meet the
needs of our customers. The IUB's decision strikes a balance
between mitigating the cost impact on customers and our commitment
to providing customers with safe, reliable and environmentally
responsible energy service." Parties have 20 days to ask the IUB to
rehear its decision once the written order is issued. IPL expects
final rates to become effective in the first quarter of 2010. IPL
expects to file an electric rate case with the IUB in March 2010,
in which it plans to seek to recover costs related to
infrastructure investments, including the construction of the 200
megawatt Whispering Willow -East wind project, which is IPL's first
owned-and-operating wind farm in Iowa, and an emission reduction
project at its Lansing power plant. The Whispering Willow - East
wind project , located in Franklin County, Iowa, started commercial
operations in late 2009. The IUB previously approved a return on
common equity of 11.7 percent for the Whispering Willow Wind - East
wind project. About Alliant Energy Alliant Energy is an
energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1
million electric and over 400,000 natural gas customers. Providing
its customers in the Midwest with regulated electric and natural
gas service is the company's primary focus. Interstate Power and
Light Company, headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the
company's Iowa and Minnesota utility subsidiary and serves
approximately 530,000 electric and 235,000 natural gas customers.
Alliant Energy is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New York
Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT. For more information, visit
the company's Web site at http://www.alliantenergy.com/. This press
release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements can be identified as such because the statements include
words such as "plans," "believes," "expects" or other words of
similar import. Similarly, statements that describe expected
outcomes in the rate case filed or to be filed with the IUB are
forward-looking. Such statements are subject to certain risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those currently anticipated. Actual results could be affected
by the following factors, among others: state regulatory or
governmental actions, and future regulatory proceedings, including
regulatory decisions regarding IPL's proposed rate increase; IPL's
ability to obtain adequate and timely rate relief to allow for,
among other things, the recovery of operating costs, deferred
expenditures and capital expenditures, including any construction
costs incurred over the predetermined level included in the
advanced rate making principles for IPL's Whispering Willow - East
wind project, costs related to generating units that may be
permanently closed, the earning of reasonable rates of return, and
the payment of expected levels of dividends; economic and political
conditions in IPL's service territory; the impact of fuel and
fuel-related prices as well as transmission and
transmission-related prices; and the effectiveness of continued
cost control efforts and operating efficiencies. These factors
should be considered when evaluating the forward-looking statements
and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. The
forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date
hereof and Alliant Energy and IPL undertake no obligation to update
publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances. http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20020405/LNTLOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Alliant Energy Corporation
CONTACT: Ryan Stensland, +1-319-786-4171, or Investor Relations,
Susan Trapp Gille, +1-608-458-3956 Web Site:
http://www.alliantenergy.com/
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