Former state legislator David Osterberg says proposed Alliant Energy rate increase "is bad for solar"

The Iowa Utility Board will hear testimony October 4th and 5th on Alliant Energy's proposed rate increase.

Former state legislator David Osterberg, appearing Tuesday morning at Winneshiek Energy District's monthly Energy Breakfast, said the proposal would increase the overall residential electricity rates by 12.5 percent, but would increase the mandatory fixed fee charged to all residential customers by 28.5 percent.  

Osterberg said he's opposed to an increase in the mandatory fixed fee.  Such an increase, he said, would be counter to the efforts to encourage energy efficiency, since the base bill would stay the same no matter what.  Such an increase would disproportionately hit low-income families, said Osterberg.

Osterberg noted that MId American charges $8.50 a month for the mandatory fixed fee.  He says if Alliant charged $13.50, it would run counter to the efforts to encourage solar energy and other forms of renewable energy.  That's because the higher the fixed fee, the less the incentive for energy conservation.

He noted that two-thirds of utilities' electrical generating capacity added in 2016 came from renewable energy sources, with another 3.4 gigawatts of rooftop solar added by consumers.  "We are getting after climate change," said Osterberg, attributing that change to the reduction in the cost of solar energy.