The Iowa Utilities Board is taking public input this week on a proposed rate hike by one of the state’s biggest gas and electric service providers.
Advocates for lower-income Iowans and seniors are pushing back. Alliant Energy is proposing to increase natural gas and electric rates by nearly 300-million dollars over the next two years, with a 13-percent hike in electricity rates and a 5-percent hike for gas. That would translate to paying 250-dollars more per year for the average residential customer.
A-A-R-P Iowa State Director Brad Anderson says this would have a dramatic impact on Iowa’s most vulnerable seniors, who’ve already seen the price of their basic needs increase…
Alliant says it’s adjusting rates to be able to provide safe, reliable utility service statewide, and to make a profit for shareholders. The utilities board is scheduled to take public comment tonight in Creston and tomorrow night online…
Alliant says the rate hike will help it reach a ten-percent profit for shareholders and allow the company to modernize its technology. But Anderson says that would come on the backs of seniors and low-income households…
The Utilities Commission has also set up an online form to allow people to comment on the proposal anytime.
(thanks to Iowa News Service)
