Article Summary
- Iowa-based utility company MidAmerican Energy asked the Illinois Commerce Commission to approve a rate hike for Illinois customers. The company serves about 85,000 Illinoisans in the Quad Cities area.
- The rate increase, if approved, would take place over a two-year schedule, leading to a $24.42 monthly increase, or $293 annually, by 2028.
- Sample letters to customers explain the company hasn’t requested a rate increase for gas since 2009 and electric since 2013.
- The rate increase is subject to approval by the ICC.
This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.
MidAmerican Energy Company is seeking to raise electricity and gas rates for roughly 85,000 customers in northwest Illinois by almost $300 a year by 2028.
The Iowa-based gas and electric utility company serves the Quad Cities and Rock Island, Henry, Mercer, and Whiteside counties.
The March 20 rate request filing is under review by the Illinois Commerce Commission and, if approved, the price increase wouldn’t start to take effect until 2027.
For consumers, according to an example of potential resident notices that MidAmerican Energy posted on its website, electricity prices would increase $9.11 per month in 2027. The next year, the monthly price would increase another $9.10.
For gas, the monthly price would be a one-time increase of $6.21 in 2027. The increases, which don’t include state taxes and local franchise fees, would raise monthly bills by about $24.42 monthly once fully implemented.
In the potential letters to customers, the utility explained it hasn’t requested a rate increase for gas since 2009 and electric since 2013.
According to Energy & Policy Institute, a national watchdog organization that monitors utility companies, 31% of a MidAmerican Energy bill went to company profits in 2024, the second-highest profit margin cited in the organization’s database.
MidAmerican also has a sample letter for businesses, which provided a similar two-phase schedule for various charges related to electricity and gas.
“We have carefully evaluated every option to limit this increase as much as possible,” the company wrote in its model notice to residents.
The reasons for the rate hikes include lack of customer growth, lower electricity use and severe weather. At the same time, the cost of labor, and construction materials has increased. The utility said the hike will correct a revenue deficiency of $26.1 million.
The Citizens Utility Board, an Illinois consumer protection advocacy organization, released a statement following the announcement saying the increase represents “a hardship for far too many customers.”
“CUB plans to intervene in this case to weed out wasteful spending and challenge every penny the company can’t justify,” Jim Chilsen, director of communications for CUB, said in the statement.
Rate increase requests typically take about 11 months to be reviewed by the ICC. In that time, CUB and other watchdog groups can petition to intervene by filing written testimony with the ICC.
More information about the process is available under the filings tab on MidAmerican’s profile page on the ICC’s website.
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