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Iowa Utilities Board affirms MidAmerican payments on wind project

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MidAmerican Energy Co. will be required to pay its electric customers $2 million annually in energy adjustment clause credits as a condition of approval of its proposed “Wind IX” generation project. The Iowa Utilities Board on Friday issued a rehearing order that disapproved a request by the Des Moines-based utility company to remove the requirement. The board’s order affirms its Jan. 20 decision that included a settlement modification providing that once 50 megawatts of the proposed wind project is in operation, an additional $2 million in annual Energy Adjustment Clause (EAC) benefits would be paid to MidAmerican’s electric customers until the next MidAmerican rate case proceeding is decided by the board. In a release Friday, the board said that it “views the settlement agreement as a whole, and determined that this settlement agreement was not reasonable or in the public interest without the modifications contained in the final order, including the EAC credit.” MidAmerican has 30 days from the date of the order to notify the board if it accepts the rate-making principles. With the project, MidAmerican proposes to add up to 162 megawatts of additional wind energy capacity in the state.