Alliant Energy's senior vice president is speaking out following the companies notice that they would be raising customer rates beginning in April. Terry Kouba told CBS2 that the chart on the notice shows the impact of the 25% rate hike, but doesn't show the offset of other savings.

Kouba confirmed that residents bills will go up this year by around $8 a month and another $12 a month next year. He said that includes everything they're working on, including the savings the company is passing on to customers as well. The proposal is part of a $1.8 billion project to bring more wind power to the state. Two new wind farms will go live in the next several weeks with three more scheduled to go up in the next few years.

Kouba said that while the wind farms are a significant investment up front Iowans will save money from them for decades to come. Customers are unhappy with being charged more now to save money in the future. The Iowa Utilities Board still has to approve the plan before the base rate increase can take affect. They'll be hosting a series of meetings that the public can attend and comment at in the next several months. You can see a schedule of those meetings HERE.

Meanwhile, a protest of Alliant Energy is scheduled to happen this Saturday. According to the event's Facebook page, over 500 people are planning on attending.

 

[via CBS2]

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