The case for voting "Yes"

Volunteers for Decorah Power say a 'Yes' vote on Tuesday will be a necessary step in switching business models for an electric utility to one that operates "for Decorah."

Decorah Power spokesperson Emily Neal says the operational costs of a utility are already built into electricity rates, as are the costs of debt financing.  But Alliant Energy, being an investor-owned utility, must also pay its executives and shareholders, while a municipal utility would be able to use that money to invest back in Decorah.

Neal says a municipal electric utility could be an economic driver for Decorah, as well as a champion of progressive renewable energy.  "We could be a leader," she tells decorahnews.com, saying that there are many new developments in the generation, storage and distribution of energy.
The drive to create a municipal electric utility in Decorah has been led by a group of volunteers.  Neal says that's important because "I'm not going to make any money…it's all about our community."  She says by contrast Alliant Energy has made "an over-exaggerated case" because it wants to protect its executives and investors.  Alliant, she says, has tried hard to divide the Decorah community and hasn't been transparent about its operational costs nor any other figures that went into the utility's feasibility study.

Neal says the 2008 application to the Iowa Utilities Board by Kalona and four other small Iowa utilities actually provides a "roadmap" for an application by Decorah, since it states municipal electric utilities don't have to be bound by city limits and gives guidance on what Iowa Utility Board members consider important guidelines for IUB applications.

The Decorah Power feasibility study of a municipal electric utility can be found at www.decorahpower.org, or on the City of Decorah's website, www.decorahia.org.