District Court Issues Alliant Energy Cash Balance Pension Plan Order

MADISON, Wis., Dec. 30, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliant Energy Corporation ("Alliant Energy") (NYSE: LNT), announced that on December 29, 2010, Judge Barbara Crabb of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin issued an order in the previously disclosed class action lawsuit against the Alliant Energy Cash Balance Pension Plan ("Plan").

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In June 2010, Judge Crabb found liability in favor of the plaintiffs. The December 29, 2010 order only concerns damages.

The Plan is studying the order and its impact on a parallel IRS proceeding. The Plan preliminarily believes that the order may lead to total pre-tax damages in the $20 million to $23 million range, which does not include any award for plaintiff's attorney's fees or costs. Alliant Energy previously reserved $9 million in aggregate related to both the class action lawsuit and the IRS proceeding. Alliant Energy anticipates recording in the fourth quarter of 2010, the difference between the estimated damages (and appropriate plaintiff's attorney's fees or costs) and the amount previously reserved. The December 29, 2010 order is not yet final and the Plan believes there will be future proceedings that may impact this range.

The Plan is evaluating potential next steps with respect to the order, including whether to pursue any appropriate appeals.

Alliant Energy Corporation 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.  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 includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified as such because the statements include words such as "believes" or other words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe future financial performance or plans or strategies are 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 the following factors, among others: the manner in which the actual amount of damages are calculated; the amount of any plaintiff's attorney's fees or costs awarded; and whether the order is successfully appealed. 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 the Plan undertake no obligation to update publicly such statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

SOURCE Alliant Energy Corporation