You're an Alliant Energy customer and you don't have a "smart meter" at your home? You'll be charged $15/month--unless a complaint filed by the Iowa Department of Justice is successful

A contractor installed the "smart meters" in Decorah in February

The Office of Consumer Advocate, a division of the Iowa Department of Justice, has filed a motion with the Iowa Utilities Board asking the board to dismiss a $15/month charge for Alliant Energy customers who have elected to not have a new smart meter.

Alliant Energy had filed a petition with the Utilities Board early this month to allow it to charge residential customers a monthly charge of $15 per meter if they opted to have a digital meter instead of a smart meter.  It is also proposing that customers with digital meters would bear the responsibility of providing manual meter readings to Alliant within four days of the customer's scheduled meter reading day.

The motion by the Department of Justice claims Alliant did not follow the requirements set down for rate changes.  "Alliant could have brought the new service charge as part of its 2017 electric rate case, (but did not)," says the filing.
 
The Department of Justice is also claiming Alliant didn't provide public notice of the new $15/month charge to all of its residential customers.  "Increases to any rates or charges should be transparent and afford customers the opportunity to participate in a public hearing before the (Utilities) Board," the document states.  It cites an Iowa Supreme Court ruling that found, "unless notice is given, the board has no jurisdiction to permit rates proposed by a utility to be put into effect."

Alliant attorney Michael S. Greiveldinger has sent a letter to the Iowa Utilities Board, stating the utility will respond to the Office of Consumer Advocate.

Alliant Energy installed smart meters in Decorah in February.  Prior to that, the City of Decorah had sent a letter to Alliant, asking it to hold off on installing the smart meters while the city makes a decision on whether to create a municipal electric utility. 

Alliant replied, "We are continuing with our plans to install smart meters in the Decorah area, just as we would install any other planned investments that are beneficial for our customers."  The letter says the Iowa Utilities Board took four years to resolve the last application for a municipal electric utility.  "We simply cannot delay our smart meter project for that long in a single community," the Alliant letter said.