Renewable energy is changing the way Waverly Utilities does business

Waverly Utilities is one of 136 municipal utilities in Iowa, which has the most such utilities of any state in the country.

CEO and General Manager Darrel Wenzel joined the utility three years ago.  Wenzel spoke Tuesday at Winneshiek Energy District's monthly breakfast about the opportunities and challenges of a locally-owned electric utility in the 21st-century energy world.

Wenzel says the utility is working now with narrower profit margins.  That's because energy costs have increased for the municipal utility, despite its membership in a Nebraska cooperative that sells energy to municipal utilities. 

He says Waverly Utilities has been rated as one of the six top municipal utilities in Iowa because, in part, it believes in reinvesting funds to constantly updating its equipment.

But Wenzel admits there's a challenge looming--the impact of renewable energy.  The utility has encouraged energy conservation, but is also watching to see what impact solar energy panels and other renewable energy source will have on revenues.

"We're looking at a way to change how we do billing," he told the breakfast group.  That's because Waverly Utilities needs to find a way to pay for the costs of maintaining its distribution network--no matter how much electricity it sells.  He says he favors reducing energy use through efficiencies--but still needs to figure out a way to make sure customers pay for the cost of the delivery system.