The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) has ruled that MidAmerican Energy Co. must pay $2 million in annual energy adjustments to ratepayers if the utility wants to move forward with its proposed 162 MW Wind IX project, located in Iowa.
On Jan. 22, MidAmerican Energy filed a petition asking the IUB to reconsider and not require the company to pay the annual $2 million credit to its electric customers. However, the board upheld the Jan. 20 decision.
The IUB said it views the settlement agreement as a whole and determined that the settlement agreement was not reasonable or in the public interest without the modifications for the energy adjustment clause credit.
‘Wind projects have many benefits, and the board appreciates the economic benefits wind development brings to the state, but they also have some risks,’ notes the IUB. ‘While the board has and will continue to encourage such projects, the projects must provide benefits to customers that are commensurate with the risk that customers will be bearing.’
MidAmerican will have 30 days to notify the IUB whether it accepts the decision, which, notes the IUB, would remain in effect for the regulated life of the facilities.
