The Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) is a 3-member
public utilities commission
In the United States, it is a governing body of a utility. In Canada, it is a utility, not a regulatory body.
Canada
In Canada, a public utilities commission (PUC) is a public utility owned and operated by a municipal or local government under t ...
, with beginnings in 1878. It is a quasi-judicial tribunal, which regulates services and rates of electric, natural gas, water and telecommunication providers in the
U.S. state of
Iowa and has existed with its present name since 1986.
Brief history (1878–1986)
The history of the IUB begins in 1878 as the ''Iowa Board of Railroad Commissioners'', whose three members were publicly elected for a two-year term. In 1911, an ''Office of Commerce Counsel'' was established within, which with increasing electrification took on the regulation of transmission lines. It was renamed the ''Iowa State Commerce Commission'' in 1937.
[History of the Iowa Utilities Board]
Iowa Utilities Board, n.d., retrieved 18 March 2016
It was only in 1963 that the regulation of rates and services of all
public utility companies (electricity, natural gas, water and telecommunications) became Commission tasks. At the same time, the legislature extended commissioner terms to six years and the positions became appointed.
In 1986, the state renamed the Commission as Iowa Utilities Board.
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]
Authority
The Iowa Utilities Board regulates rates and services of electric utilities, natural gas utility and water utilities, and a some telecommunication companies per Iowa Code chapters 476 through 479B It supervises all pipelines and transmission lines, and the sale and distribution of electricity.
In addition it has various connected authorities like resolving disputes and dealing with complaints, enforcing safety as far as engineering standards go.[Jurisdiction and Regulatory Authority of the Iowa Utilities Board]
Iowa Utilities Board, n.d., retrieved 18 March 2016
Electric utilities
The IUB regulates service and rates of the 2 Iowa electric companies, MidAmerican Energy
MidAmerican Energy Company is an energy company based in Des Moines, Iowa. Its service area includes almost two-thirds of Iowa, as well as portions of Illinois, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Its territory is wholly encompassed by the territory ...
and Interstate Power and Light Company
Alliant Energy is a public utility holding company headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, providing power in Iowa and Wisconsin.
History
Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) expanded greatly in the late 1920s to include operations in Iowa, ...
(IPL), a subsidiary of Alliant Energy Company and also the Rural Electric Cooperatives (RECs). The latter can choose to be regulated for rates and only the Linn County, Iowa REC has chosen to do so.[
]
Communications utilities
The IUB regulates only the service of landline telephone
A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which us ...
providers in Iowa, and neither regulates cellphone providers nor any rates. Since 2007 it issue cable television franchise agreements.[
]
Waterworks
The IUB regulates rates and service of only the Iowa-American Water Company, which operates in Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...
and Clinton, Iowa. It neither regulate small, nor municipally owned water utilities.[
]
Members
Members are appointed by the Governor of Iowa for 6-year terms. the IUB consists of Libby Jacobs, Nick Wagner with Geri Huser as chairwoman.[Board members]
Iowa Utilities Board, n.d., retrieved 18 March 2016
Huser has been described as "businessfriendly".
Board members since the board's inception in 1986 are listed in the table per its website.[Past Commissioners/Board Members]
Iowa Utilities Board, n.d., retrieved 18 March 2016
Court cases
* ''''
* '' Sprint Communications, Inc. v. Jacobs'', began in 2011[Court proceedings]
Iowa Utilities Board, 14 March 2016, retrieved 18 March 2016
* Mt. Pleasant Municipal Utilities v. Iowa Utilities Board, 2014[
*Hawkeye land company v. Iowa Utilities Board, 2014]
/ref>
* Great Lakes Communication Corporation v. IUB, began in 2015[
]
References
External links
Iowa Utilities Board Website
{{authority control
Iowa
State agencies of Iowa