Interstate Power and Light Company Receives Approval to Implement Interim Change in Minnesota Retail Electric Rates

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa, June 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Corporation (NYSE: LNT), today received an oral decision from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) regarding its request to implement an interim increase in its Minnesota electric retail rates.

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In its oral decision, the MPUC authorized an increase in electric revenues of approximately $14.1 million or 20.4 percent. Interim rates are expected to become effective July 6, 2010. The impact of the proposed change in electric rates will vary depending on customer class. The MPUC established a return on common equity of 10.39 percent during the interim period.

IPL had requested an interim increase in electric revenues of approximately $14.5 million or 21 percent.

"The MPUC's decision today enables our company to begin recovering the costs of the $1 billion of investments made for the benefit of our customers over the past five years to provide safe, reliable and clean energy service," says Tom Aller, President - IPL. "Since our last request to change base rates in 2005, we have been making investments that enhance the safety and reliability of our electric system for our customers while reducing our impact on the environment as we lessen our power plant emissions and increase our use of renewable energy."

Interim rates are expected to remain in place until the third quarter 2011 when the MPUC's final decision on the company's electric rate request becomes effective. If the final electric revenues approved by the MPUC are lower than the interim revenue levels, IPL will issue refunds equal to the difference between the interim and final rate levels, plus interest.

IPL anticipates that additional details regarding today's decision will be included in the MPUC's written order, expected to be issued prior to July 6, 2010.

"We recognize that while these investments are made for the benefit of our customers, there are also cost implications and we are committed to managing our costs while working with customers to also manage their energy costs through a variety of energy efficiency actions and programs," adds Aller.

On May 7, 2010, IPL filed a request with the MPUC to increase annual base revenues by approximately $15 million, or 22 percent. The MPUC had sixty days after IPL's filing to issue a decision that suspended the company's proposed final rates and allowed implementation of interim rates while the MPUC considers the company's request.

Additional information for customers on the rate case and energy-saving ways to reduce the impact of the proposed rate changes is available at www.alliantenergy.com/minnesotarates. Documents relating to this filing can be found on the MPUC's Web site at www.puc.state.mn.us/PUC.

About Alliant Energy

Alliant Energy is an energy-services provider with subsidiaries serving approximately 1 million electric and 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 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.

Alliant Energy Forward-Looking Statement

This press release includes forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements can be identified as such because the statements include words such as "proposed," "expected," "anticipates," "believes" or other words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe expected outcomes in the rate case filed with the MPUC are forward-looking. 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:

-- state regulatory or governmental actions, and future regulatory proceedings, including regulatory decisions regarding IPL's proposed rate increase;

-- IPL's ability to obtain adequate and timely rate relief to allow for, among other things, the recovery of operating costs, capital expenditures and deferred expenditures, the earning of reasonable rates of return and the payment of expected levels of dividends;

-- economic and political conditions in IPL's service territory; and

-- the impact fuel and fuel-related prices and the effectiveness of continued cost control efforts and operating efficiencies.  

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