Iowa Electricity Rates
Rate data for Iowa is being refreshed. The regulator and market facts below are current; figures return with the next data load.
Can you choose your electricity supplier in Iowa?
No. Iowa has not opened its residential electricity market to competition, so the utility that delivers your power also sells it. Its prices are set in rate cases before the Iowa Utilities Commission, and the rate you pay depends on which utility serves your address, your rate schedule, and the season.
Grid operator: MISO and SPP (split). Wholesale power costs flow through to retail bills on the regulator's schedule rather than month to month, which is why regulated-state rates move more slowly than the market-based states listed below.
Want to shop for a supplier? Retail choice is open on this site in Massachusetts, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington DC.
Iowa gives you no supplier choice (your address sits in one utility's exclusive IUC-mapped territory), yet wind supplies 58.48% of in-state generation and residential prices (15.99 cents/kWh in July 2026) run below the U.S. average; expect a possible deposit capped at your address's highest month under IUC rule 199-20.4(3), a November 1 to April 1 shutoff moratorium only if you are LIHEAP-certified, and rates set by the city council or co-op board rather than the IUC if you land in one of the 135 municipal or 44 cooperative territories.
Who will deliver your power in Iowa
The utility is fixed by your address. These are the largest in the state, with what each says it needs from a new customer.
MidAmerican Energy Companyinvestor-owned
Des Moines-headquartered, rate-regulated utility serving Iowa (plus Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota); its Iowa page says it serves 1.3 million electric and natural gas customers across the state, and the IUC counts it as one of Iowa's two rate-regulated electric utilities. About the IUC's 2025 profile counts 1,249,609 electric customers for MidAmerican and IPL combined; MidAmerican itself says 1.3 million electric and natural gas customers in Iowa and 1.6 million across four states (combined electric + gas, not electric-only).
New residents complete an online residential service request to schedule a connection; the form says MidAmerican uses reasonable means to verify your identity (visit a customer office or call 888-427-5632 for alternative ID), that an adult 18 or older must be present if the meter is inside a building or locked fence, and that a confirmation email will state the order date and access requirements. The Iowa electric tariff adds that all applicants must provide proof of identity and may be asked for proof of occupancy, that the company will make reasonable efforts to turn on service during normal working hours on the day requested (two working days' notice to turn off), and that a deposit or other credit assurance may be requested from any prospective customer, set at the highest one-month bill at the premises in the prior 12 months or the highest projected month, and refunded with interest after 12 consecutive months of prompt payment.
Start service with MidAmerican Energy Company →Sources: midamericanenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, iuc.iowa.gov
Alliant Energy (Interstate Power and Light Company, IPL)investor-owned
Alliant Energy's Iowa utility, IPL, the state's other IUC rate-regulated electric utility; its communities-served list includes Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton, Dubuque, Marshalltown, Mason City and Ottumwa. About approximately 500,000 retail electric customers in Iowa (per Alliant Energy).
Alliant's start/stop/move page asks you to select your state (Iowa or Wisconsin) and customer type before it shows the Iowa steps, and lists 1-800-ALLIANT (800-255-4268) as the phone contact; its Iowa residential tariff (effective October 1, 2024) sets Rate 400 at a $0.5096-per-day service charge (about $15.50 a month) plus 9.992 cents per kWh in winter and 13.398 cents in the June 1 to August 31 summer period, before riders.
Start service with Alliant Energy →Sources: alliantenergy.com, alliantenergy.com, alliantenergy.com, alliantenergy.com, alliantenergy.com, iuc.iowa.gov
Iowa's electric cooperatives (Iowa Association of Electric Cooperatives members)cooperative
The IUC's 2025 profile counts 44 rural electric cooperatives with 248,890 customers (14.44% of the state); IAEC, whose 48 members include 38 distribution co-ops and 9 generation-and-transmission co-ops, describes them as not-for-profit, member-owned co-ops serving primarily rural Iowa in all 99 counties over 62,000 miles of line. About 248,890 REC customers (per IUC 2025 profile); 650,000 Iowans served (per IAEC).
Each co-op signs up members itself; IAEC's members page links to a lookup for which local co-op serves your location, to a detailed map of Iowa's electric service-area boundaries, and to each distribution co-op's website. IAEC says the average Iowa household served by a co-op spends about $5.25 a day on electricity and that co-op rates are cost-based; the IUC regulates co-ops only for service, safety and engineering, not rates.
Start service with Iowa's electric cooperatives →Sources: iowarec.org, iowarec.org, iuc.iowa.gov
Cedar Falls Utilities (CFU)municipal
Community-owned utility providing electricity, water, natural gas, internet and phone to residents of Cedar Falls, with one combined monthly bill that also covers City of Cedar Falls sewer, garbage and storm water services; one of the 135 municipal electric utilities the IUC counts in Iowa.
CFU's online start form asks for Social Security numbers for you and your spouse, your present and new addresses, the start date, your landlord's name and phone if renting, roommates' names and phones, and an emergency contact; CFU must receive the application at least one working day before service begins (applications after 4 p.m. count as the next working day) and will call to arrange a reading if meters are inside. You can also call 319-268-5280 Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. or visit 1 Utility Parkway; CFU says households with its electric, water, gas and communications services pay about $992 a year less than residents of 20 peer communities.
Start service with Cedar Falls Utilities →Sources: cfu.net, cfu.net, cfu.net, iuc.iowa.gov
Deposits, ID, and supplier choice in Iowa
Deposits. Under 199 IAC 20.4(3) a rate-regulated utility may require a deposit from any customer or prospective customer, but only as determined by the credit-rating or deposit-calculation criteria in its filed tariff; the deposit for a place that previously had service cannot exceed the highest one-month bill there in the previous 12 months (for a never-served place, the utility's projected one-month usage), someone else may pay it for you, and a written surety guarantee may be accepted instead of cash. Deposits earn 7.5 percent interest compounded annually (20.4(4)) and are refunded after 12 consecutive months of prompt payment, which may be 11 timely payments plus one forgiven late payment (20.4(7)); no written notice is required for a deposit demanded as a condition of initial service. (legis.iowa.gov)
Choosing a supplier. No residential supplier choice: Iowa Code 476.24 has the IUC keep a composite map of electric utility service areas, which the IUC's map page describes as exclusive service areas changeable only with IUC approval, and EIA's 2024 Iowa profile records all 54,930,422 MWh of retail sales as full-service-provider sales with zero energy-only (competitive supplier) sales (https://iuc.iowa.gov/regulated-industries/electric/electric-service-area-boundary-map).
Your utility is fixed by address: the IUC's 2025 profile counts 181 electric utilities (2 investor-owned with 1,249,609 customers, 135 municipals with 224,854 and 44 cooperatives with 248,890), it regulates rates only for MidAmerican and IPL, and Iowa Code 476.20(3) says its disconnection rules for municipals and co-ops shall not regulate their rates. Wind supplied 58.48% of in-state generation in the IUC's 2025 profile, EIA puts Iowa's 2024 all-sector average retail price at 9.34 cents/kWh (ranked 45th) and its July 2026 residential average at 15.99 cents against a U.S. average of 18.31, and unresolved disputes go to IUC Customer Service (515-725-7300 or 877-565-4450, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays) or the Office of Consumer Advocate (515-725-7200).
Sources: legis.iowa.gov, legis.iowa.gov, iuc.iowa.gov, eia.gov, eia.gov, iuc.iowa.gov, iuc.iowa.gov, legis.iowa.gov, iuc.iowa.gov, iowaattorneygeneral.gov
Help paying an electric bill in Iowa
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Iowa
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, through 16 local Community Action Agencies (Community Action Agencies Unit 515-776-8871; HHS 800-972-2017); apply online at liheap-apply.hhs.iowa.gov
Owner- and renter-occupied households with income at or below 200% of federal poverty guidelines (for October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027: $31,920 for one person, $43,280 for two, $54,640 for three, $66,000 for four, and for households of more than eight members $11,360 for each additional member) who have an energy burden and can verify citizenship for all members; applications open October 1 for households with a member 60 or older or disabled, November 1 for everyone else, and run through April 30, with a one-time payment made to your heating utility. Being certified eligible protects a head of household from heating-service disconnection for nonpayment November 1 through April 1; the federal LIHEAP Clearinghouse lists FY2026 funding of $58,805,299, heating benefits of $80 minimum to $800 maximum, crisis help up to $5,200 (at or below 150% of poverty) and 82,693 households helped with heating in FY2024.
Sources: hhs.iowa.gov, iuc.iowa.gov, liheapch.acf.gov, liheap-apply.hhs.iowa.gov, hhs.iowa.gov, legis.iowa.gov
Weatherization Assistance Program (Iowa)
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services with U.S. Department of Energy funding, delivered through local Community Action Agencies (515-776-8871)
Low-income households, particularly the elderly, disabled and families with children, get a computerized energy audit and permanent measures such as high-density wall and attic insulation, blower-door-guided air sealing and combustion-appliance safety checks; apply at your county's Community Action Agency, and the IUC notes a weatherization application automatically generates a LIHEAP application. The LIHEAP Clearinghouse lists eligibility at 200% of the federal poverty level and 977 Iowa households weatherized in FY2024.
Sources: hhs.iowa.gov, iuc.iowa.gov, liheapch.acf.gov
MidAmerican Energy customer donations, matched 25 cents per dollar by the company, distributed by local community action agencies (888-427-5632)
Families in MidAmerican's area who need help with heating bills or energy-efficiency weatherization; the LIHEAP Clearinghouse says I CARE assists customers who are unemployed, on fixed or low incomes or in a family crisis and who meet their state's LIHEAP guidelines. MidAmerican's page also points Iowa customers to Iowa HHS for LIHEAP (515-281-3861) and offers free Budget Billing that averages bills using the prior 24 months of usage at the address.
Sources: midamericanenergy.com, liheapch.acf.gov, midamericanenergy.com
Alliant Energy Hometown Care Energy Fund
Alliant Energy customer donations with a 25 percent company match per the LIHEAP Clearinghouse (Alliant's Iowa assistance page says the fund is supported by Alliant Energy, community partners and customers); donations stay in the donor's county and are distributed in Iowa by local Community Action Agencies
Income-qualified Alliant Energy customers (the fund page lists low-income households, seniors on fixed incomes, people with disabilities and families facing unexpected hardships) can receive up to $500 toward heating and cooling costs by applying at their local Community Action Agency; Alliant's Iowa assistance page also offers payment arrangements and a payment extension of up to 30 days.
Sources: alliantenergy.com, alliantenergy.com, liheapch.acf.gov
Cooperative RECare and Operation Round-Up funds
Individual Iowa electric cooperatives (for example Access Energy, Chariton Valley, East-Central Iowa REC and Prairie Energy run RECare; Consumers Energy, Iowa Lakes, Nishnabotna Valley and Northwest REC run Operation Round-Up), with funds passed to local community action agencies
Low-income co-op members, including the elderly, needing help with winter heating bills or home weatherization, as described by the LIHEAP Clearinghouse's Iowa utility-program listing; the Clearinghouse also lists the Des Moines Register's Embrace Iowa fund (up to $500, at or below 150% of poverty, applications November 1 to January 15 at a Community Action Agency) as a last-resort charitable source.
Source: liheapch.acf.gov
Programs that change what you pay
- Rooftop solar (net metering)available
- Iowa Code 476.49 requires MidAmerican and IPL to bill eligible customer generation (behind the meter, up to 1 MW AC and no more than 110% of annual use) under either net billing (kWh credits) or inflow-outflow (dollar credits at the outflow rate), and the IUC approved MidAmerican's Rate IO (November 24, 2020) and IPL's Inflow-Outflow and revised Net Metering Pilot tariffs (December 30, 2020); MidAmerican's checklist includes an interconnection application and fee and a $125 witness-test fee in Iowa, and the IUC puts 2025 statewide DG penetration at 3.90% (IPL 8.65%, MidAmerican 1.47%), with a value-of-solar rate due once it reaches 5% or a utility petitions after July 1, 2027.
Sources: iuc.iowa.gov, legis.iowa.gov, midamericanenergy.com, alliantenergy.com
- Community solarlimited
- Alliant Energy's first Iowa community solar garden, the only Iowa site among the three gardens it lists, is a 4.5-megawatt facility in Cedar Rapids that began operating in February 2024 with more than 300 subscribers and is fully subscribed with a waitlist; subscribers buy blocks covering up to 100% of their use and receive a bill credit based on solar production.
Source: alliantenergy.com
- Time-of-use ratesavailable
- Both investor-owned utilities offer optional residential time-of-use rates with a 12-month minimum: MidAmerican's Rate RST (homes using 50,000 kWh a year or less) charges a premium 1 to 6 p.m. weekdays in the June-September summer billing period and less 10 p.m. to 8 a.m., while Alliant's Summer Saver (Rate 407) bills 2 to 7 p.m. weekdays June through August at 22.269 cents per kWh on-peak and its Night Owl (Rate 427) charges a super off-peak 5.829 cents winter / 6.146 cents summer from midnight to 8 a.m. Regular MidAmerican rates still differ by season (summer June-September, winter October-May).
Sources: midamericanenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, alliantenergy.com, alliantenergy.com
Questions people ask before moving to Iowa
How far ahead should I set up electricity before moving to Iowa?
MidAmerican takes residential start requests online and its Iowa tariff says it will make reasonable efforts to turn on service during normal working hours on the day you request, with an adult present if the meter is inside or behind a locked fence; Cedar Falls Utilities needs your application at least one working day before service starts, and anything received after 4 p.m. counts as the next working day. Alliant Energy's start page asks you to pick Iowa and your customer type online or call 1-800-ALLIANT (800-255-4268).
Sources: midamericanenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, cfu.net, alliantenergy.com
Can I shop for a cheaper electricity supplier in Iowa?
No. Iowa assigns each address to one utility inside exclusive service areas mapped by the Iowa Utilities Commission under Iowa Code 476.24, and EIA's 2024 profile shows zero energy-only (competitive supplier) sales in the state; use the IUC's Electric Service Area Boundary Map to see whether your new address falls under MidAmerican, Alliant/IPL, a municipal utility or a cooperative.
Sources: iuc.iowa.gov, legis.iowa.gov, eia.gov, iuc.iowa.gov
Will I have to pay a deposit to start electric service in Iowa?
Possibly: IUC rule 199 IAC 20.4(3) lets a rate-regulated utility require a deposit from a prospective customer under its tariff's credit criteria, capped at the highest one-month bill at that address in the prior 12 months (or projected one-month use for a new address), payable by a third party or replaced by a surety guarantee, and refunded with 7.5 percent interest after 12 consecutive months of prompt payment. MidAmerican's Iowa tariff says it may request a deposit or other credit assurance (cash, surety bond, bank letter of credit or third-party guarantee) from any prospective customer and may refuse service between April 1 and October 31 if you do not provide it, and that all applicants must show proof of identity.
Sources: legis.iowa.gov, midamericanenergy.com
What does electricity cost in Iowa compared with other states?
EIA ranks Iowa's 2024 all-sector average retail price of 9.34 cents per kWh 45th among states, and its July 2026 residential average of 15.99 cents sits below the U.S. average of 18.31 cents. Alliant/IPL's residential Rate 400 (effective October 1, 2024) is about $15.50 a month in service charge plus 9.992 cents per kWh in winter and 13.398 cents in summer before riders, MidAmerican's posted Rate RS sheet (effective May 1, 2018) lists an $8.50 basic service charge plus 10.575 cents per kWh in summer and 8.044 cents for the first 1,000 kWh in winter before adjustment clauses, and IAEC says the average co-op household spends about $5.25 a day.
Sources: eia.gov, eia.gov, alliantenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, iowarec.org
What happens if I fall behind on my electric bill during an Iowa winter?
The IUC's customer-rights handout says a utility must give 12 days' written notice, cannot shut off service when the forecast calls for 20°F or colder in the next 24 hours, must offer a payment plan spread over at least 12 months, and cannot disconnect a LIHEAP-certified household from November 1 through April 1 (Iowa Code 476.20), though you still owe for that usage; LIHEAP applications run November 1 to April 30 (October 1 for households with a member 60 or older or disabled) at 200% of poverty. Alliant's Hometown Care fund offers up to $500 and MidAmerican's I CARE helps with heating bills, both through your Community Action Agency, and unresolved disputes go to IUC Customer Service at 877-565-4450.
Sources: iuc.iowa.gov, iuc.iowa.gov, legis.iowa.gov, hhs.iowa.gov, alliantenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com
Is Iowa's electricity really mostly wind, and does that change my bill?
Yes: the IUC's 2025 profile shows wind produced 58.48% of in-state generation (13,411 MW, 54% of nameplate capacity) and EIA lists wind as Iowa's primary energy source, while MidAmerican says its more than 3,500 turbines give its Iowa customers more than 90% renewable energy on an annual basis at no net cost. The rate you pay is still whatever your assigned utility's tariff says; municipal and cooperative utilities set rates outside IUC rate regulation and co-ops in Iowa run their own RECare or Operation Round-Up hardship funds.
Sources: iuc.iowa.gov, eia.gov, midamericanenergy.com, midamericanenergy.com, iuc.iowa.gov, liheapch.acf.gov
Researched 2026-10-16 from utility, regulator, and agency pages; every statement links to where it was read. Rules change: confirm deposits and program dates with the utility or agency before you rely on them.
Every state ranked by residential rate, updated weekly: Electricity Rates by State →