Alliant Energy Highlights Future Generation Plans for IPL

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Executing on Alliant Energy's Strategic Plan, Interstate Power and Light Co. (IPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE: LNT), is announcing planned adjustments to its electric power generating fleet. These adjustments will help the company manage future energy costs for its Minnesota and Iowa customers amidst evolving environmental regulations.

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In its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) filed Monday with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC), the company provided a blue-print for meeting the electric needs of customers at a reasonable cost. The plan allows for potential changes to environmental regulations and allows IPL to meet current environmental requirements. Through environmental and efficiency improvements at IPL's largest, newest and most-efficient generating facilities, efficient operation of slightly smaller units in the fleet and cost-effective purchased power agreements, the Plan illustrates that IPL is well-situated to meet the energy needs of IPL customers during the planning period.

"This plan creates flexibility and puts us on a path to meet our customers energy needs for years to come," said Tom Aller, President-IPL, while cautioning that an IRP is a snapshot in time based on information that can change over time. "With that flexibility, we are working to improve the efficiency and environmental profile of our existing generating fleet in a manner that helps control future costs for our customers."

The plan provides details of a process to retire older, smaller, and less-efficient equipment at certain locations. Among the facilities scheduled to see such changes include the Lansing, Sutherland, Prairie Creek, ML Kapp, and Fox Lake Generating Stations, although each plant will continue to generate cost-effective power on behalf of IPL customers.

The IRP also begins a process of retiring the Dubuque Generating Station. While it is expected that the retirement of the Dubuque plant will be completed by 2015, specific timing will depend on operational, market and other factors.

"We will work closely with our employees and cooperatively with union leadership to reduce any negative impacts on employees," said Aller. "Given the extended window of time we have to work with, we are confident we can manage this in a manner that addresses our operational requirements as well as employee needs."

The state of Minnesota requires that new IRPs be filed once every two years. The IRP covers a 15-year planning period (2010 – 2025) and considers a number of factors that influence resource selection. The ultimate goal is to develop a plan that provides the best resource portfolio for our customers. Given reasonable assumptions and after careful consideration of costs, reliability and risks, a reference case is constructed. All combinations of existing resource alternatives are considered when determining the optimal integrated resource plan.

Alliant Energy is an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million electric and over 412,000 natural gas customers. Providing its customers in the Midwest with regulated electric and natural gas service is the company's primary focus. Interstate Power and Light, the company's Iowa and Minnesota utility subsidiary, serves approximately 527,000 electric and 234,000 natural gas customers. Alliant Energy, headquartered in Madison, Wis., is a Fortune 1000 company traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol LNT. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.alliantenergy.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward- looking statements can be identified as such because the statements include words such as "potential," "plan" or other words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe future plans, our future integrated resources plan and how it results in us meeting environmental requirements, and forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those currently anticipated. Actual results could be affected by such factors as: state or federal regulatory actions or local government actions, including rate recovery or inability to obtain all necessary approvals and permits; current or future litigation, regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries that could impede the implementation of the IPL's plans; changes in environmental laws or regulations; economic conditions in IPL's service territory; and political conditions in IPL's service territory. These factors should be considered when evaluating the forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. The forward-looking statements included herein are made as of the date hereof and Alliant Energy and IPL undertake no obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

SOURCE Alliant Energy Corporation