Critical Eye Opener

      For a long time, it has seemed that city (ours anyway) utilities are dangerously autonomous, though I knew there was a Iowa Utility Board in far off Des Moines. I had long objected to more than a dozen utility installations on my easement—two by the phone company alone, poles, guide wires and miscellaneous electricity boxes, the biggest installed in my absence and that Cascade Utility pays its workers better than the city workers, who must have a wider range of skills, and should earn more.

      Like every other property owner in town I was assessed for the installation of new underground cables, which I believe the utility should have installed, since it and the organization from which it buys power profits from increased capacity, not me. I am struggling to use less electricity all the time—relying on trees for air conditioning. Most summers I don't turn on the AC a half dozen times.

      This summer at least, I thought for the $700 I spent I would have fewer obstacles to mow around, but when that didn't materialize, I wrote a letter to the Iowa Utility Board. Here's the crux of response I received: In addressing your concerns about the upgrading of your electric service, the Iowa Utilities Board has direct jurisdiction over rate-regulated utilities, but not the municipal utilities.

Now there's a critical eye opener—the Iowa Utility Board only regulates the Rural Electric Cooperative or big providers like Alliant. They don't do anything. Administrative code is all that disciplines city utilities like ours.