INU-2025-0001

Key events and submissions in this proceeding include:

- April 25, 2025: The Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC) opened docket no. INU-2025-0001 to investigate summer 2025 preparedness plans and grid resilience. The IUC issued an order requesting information from Iowa electric utilities, with attached questions for utilities to answer and a scheduled summer preparedness meeting for June 3, 2025 1.
- April 28–29, 2025: Notices of appearance and participation were filed by the Office of Consumer Advocate and other parties 2, 2, 3.
- May 15, 2025: Waverly Utilities submitted its response, including information from the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) 4.
- May 23, 2025: Numerous responses were filed by municipal utilities and groups such as Missouri River Energy Services (MRES), Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU), and others, providing detailed information on winter 2024–2025 operations and summer 2025 preparedness 5, 5, 6, 5, 5, 6, 6.
- May 27, 2025: Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL) and others filed their responses, addressing the commission’s questions and outlining preparedness actions 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7, 7.
- June 3, 2025: The commission scheduled a technical conference/summer preparedness meeting for utilities, commission staff, and interested parties to discuss challenges and solutions for grid reliability and resilience for summer 2025 1, 6.

Docket No. INU-2025-0001 is an investigation by the Iowa Utilities Commission into the preparedness and resilience of Iowa's electric utilities for the summer of 2025. The docket seeks to ensure that utilities have adequate plans to reliably serve customers during peak summer demand and in the face of potential extreme weather events.

Key points include:
- The Commission requested detailed information from rate-regulated utilities (and welcomed responses from others) on their preparedness strategies, operational experiences during winter 2024-2025, fuel supplies, locational marginal prices, and any new hazards or vulnerabilities.
- Utilities reported normal winter operations, no significant fuel or price issues, and generally stable preparedness strategies for summer 2025. Most did not identify new hazards or threats, and several highlighted recent investments in generation capacity, such as new solar projects.
- The docket also addresses resource adequacy in the context of concerns raised by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) about potential energy shortfalls in the region.
- The Commission scheduled a preparedness meeting for June 3, 2025, for further discussion among utilities and stakeholders 1.

Overall, the investigation aims to maintain grid reliability and resilience through utility preparedness, resource planning, and stakeholder engagement 1.

The financial and timeline risks and concerns discussed in this docket include:

Financial Risks:
- Prolonged generation during energy shortfall periods could cause significant rate increases for customers, particularly for utilities like Panora 1.
- Continued reliance on grid power due to energy shortfalls may require utilities to run local generation for longer periods, leading to increased personnel, EPA testing, and maintenance costs not covered by existing contracts 1.
- The April 2025 MISO planning resource auction set summer capacity prices at approximately twice the cost of new entry (CONE), indicating higher costs and price volatility for utilities needing to secure additional capacity 2.
- The retirement of dispatchable and stable resources (e.g., coal-fired units) is a financial concern as it could necessitate costly alternatives or upgrades and may lead to postponement of retirements, as seen with Muscatine Power and Water (MPW) 1.

Timeline Risks:
- The regional retirement of dispatchable generation resources raises concerns about the ability to meet electrical energy demands, especially during periods of low renewable production or peak usage, which can create urgent capacity and reliability issues 3, 3.
- Delays in approval processes for new generation assets or upgrades, such as those involving air quality permits or improvements in the MISO interconnection queue, could further impact the timely addition of needed capacity and resilience measures 1, 3.
- The need to adapt resource planning and implement new strategies (e.g., updating circuit priorities for load shedding, expanding demand response portfolios) indicates ongoing concern about timely preparedness for peak demand and potential emergency conditions 2.

Overall, the docket highlights concerns that financial pressures and uncertainties around generation resource retirement, price volatility, and regulatory timelines could impact both utility budgets and the reliability of the electric grid during peak periods.

The primary stakeholders in Iowa Utilities Commission docket no. INU-2025-0001 are:

- Iowa Utilities Commission (IUC): Oversees and coordinates the investigation into summer 2025 preparedness and grid resilience for Iowa utilities 1.
- Office of Consumer Advocate (OCA): A division of the Iowa Department of Justice participating in the docket to represent consumer interests 2, 2, 2.
- Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL): A rate-regulated utility providing detailed responses about preparedness, grid resilience, and resource planning 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.
- Missouri River Energy Services (MRES): A generation and transmission utility serving Iowa municipal members and responding to preparedness and resource adequacy topics 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4.
- Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities (IAMU): Represents municipal utilities across Iowa, voluntarily participating to inform the board of member preparedness and experiences 5, 6, 6, 5, 6.
- Brooklyn Municipal Utilities: A municipal utility submitting its own comments regarding fuel, preparedness, and backup generation 7, 7.
- Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska (MEAN) and members (e.g., Waverly Municipal Electric Utility): Provide input about their preparedness, fuel supply, and operational experiences 8.

Positions on Proposals:
- There is no explicit opposition or support for specific proposals in the excerpts. Rather, most stakeholders report their preparedness and offer suggestions:
- IPL supports investments in generation/distribution and regulatory support for expedited resource adequacy studies. IPL does not identify new hazards or supply chain issues, and reports readiness for summer peak load 3, 3, 3, 3, 3.
- MRES highlights its resource adequacy, resilience improvements (e.g., undergrounding), and readiness for summer peak. It encourages continued support for generation resources but does not oppose any specific proposal 4, 4, 4, 4.
- IAMU and its members voluntarily submit preparedness information and do not state opposition to any commission proposals, focusing on informing the board of municipal utility actions and experiences 5, 5.
- Brooklyn Municipal Utilities and Waverly Municipal Electric Utility report no issues with preparedness or supply, do not mention opposition, and suggest small utilities could contribute more backup generation if needed 7, 8, 7.

In summary, the docket's stakeholders include the IUC, OCA, IPL, MRES, IAMU, Brooklyn Municipal Utilities, MEAN, and their respective member utilities. The available information shows no explicit opposition from stakeholders; most report readiness and provide input or suggestions rather than taking adversarial positions.

The docket identifies several areas of growth, along with key considerations for each:

1. Load Growth, Particularly from Large Customers:
- There is specific mention of a large data center being constructed in one member community, which is expected to significantly increase the peak load within a short time period. The key consideration here is the impact on local reliability, and the need for local generation and load shed planning to manage higher demand 1.

2. Continued Load Growth Across the System:
- Utilities acknowledge general load growth as a reason for concern, especially as the generation portfolio shifts towards more intermittent resources and dispatchable, stable resources are retired. The key considerations include ensuring sufficient capacity, maintaining reliability during peak periods, and replacing retiring assets with new generation sources that can provide similar reliability benefits 2, 2.

3. Expansion of Backup and Local Generation:
- Some utilities are utilizing backup generators from customers and are considering or actively adding more local, fast-acting, dispatchable generation assets to support increased demand and grid reliability. The key consideration is ensuring that these resources are available and can be quickly deployed during peak or emergency conditions 3, 2.

4. Transmission and Distribution System Enhancements:
- Growth in demand and the addition of new large customers trigger improvements in local distribution infrastructure, such as undergrounding electrical equipment to improve resilience, and the addition of new substations and SCADA systems. The key consideration is enhancing system reliability and reducing the frequency and duration of outages as the system evolves 1, 4.

5. Need for Timely Generation and Transmission Additions:
- As coal and other dispatchable resources are retired, there is a need to add new generation and transmission infrastructure to support load growth. The key consideration is minimizing regulatory and queueing delays (e.g., at MISO and FERC) to ensure that adequate resources are online to meet increased demand 2.

In summary, major growth areas are increased peak loads (particularly from large customers), general system load growth, expansion of backup/local generation, and system infrastructure enhancements, with key considerations centered on reliability, timely resource addition, and system resilience.