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Employee Directory

Mike Johnson               Operations Manager                     Hired:   January, 2004
Bob Riggle                   Lineman                                      Hired:   May, 2004
Sue Hrubes                  Office Manager                            Hired:   August 1982
Christy Wylie                Bookkeeper                                 Hired:   July 2000

Office hours:
Monday - Friday
8:00am – 12:00pm   1:00pm – 5:00 pm

Our phones are answered 24 hours a day.
If you experience service problems after hours, call our regular phone number.
An answering service will take your information and page the employee on call if necessary.

Electric Rates and Information (effective as of 6/15/2004) 

Rates of the electric and water utilities are established by the La Porte City Utilities Board of Trustees.  As a municipal system, we are not subject to the regulation of the Utilities Division of the Department of Commerce of the State of Iowa. 

Residential (per month)

            From                       0     to       200 kWh            $0.1035
            From                    201     to      500 kWh            $0.0829
            From                    501     to      1000 kWh           $0.0775
            Over                   1000                                       $0.0740 

            Minimum bill         60 kWh                                  $6.21   

Commercial (per month)

            From                       0     to       200 kWh            $0.1035
            From                   201      to       500 kWh            $0.0845
            From                   501      to      1500 kWh           $0.0785
            Over                  1500                                        $0.0740 

Minimum bill         60 kWh                                  $6.21 

Horsepower (per month)

            First                  10 kWh per H.P.                        $0.1015
            Next                  20 kWh per H.P.                        $0.0885
            Next                  20 kWh per H.P.                        $0.0815
            All Over             50 kWh per H.P.                        $0.0765 

            Minimum bill $1.00 per H.P., but not less than $2.02

 Municipal Service (per month)

            All kWh                                                             $0.0665 

Sales tax not included in above rates

Power Cost Adjustment (PCA)

On March 8, 2005, the La Porte City Utilities Board of Trustees approved a Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) surcharge.  The     surcharge will be applied to your bill when the previous month’s power costs exceed the base rate of 3.87 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) sold.  The difference between the costs per kWh sold and the base rate will then be used as the Power Cost Adjustment factor.  This factor will be multiplied times the number of kilowatt hours you used for the month.          

Example:           Purchased Power + Fuel used to generate = Cost of Power   / Kilowatts Sold = Cost per kW Sold – Base = PCA Factor

                      $54,232.26     +      $2,446.14               =   $56,678.40    /    1,117,206     =        $0.0507        - $0.0387 =   $0.012

Electric usage of 600 kWh X PCA factor of 1.2 cents per kWh = $7.20 Power Cost Adjustment

(Sales tax not included)

The factor will very rarely be the same.  In this example it is 1.2 cents per kWh.  The next month it could be .16 cents per kWh (with a surcharge of $.96 with usage of 600 kWh).  It will be a separate item on your statement so you will always know how much, if any, this charge will be.  This will take effect starting with the May 2005 power costs and total kWh sold in the May 2005 billing cycle.  That factor will be applied to your electric usage on the June 2005 statement due July 15, 2005.  The same factor will be applied to all Electric service categories: Residential, Commercial, and Municipal. 

The Power Cost Adjustment is to help cover the increasing costs associated with fuel to generate and kilowatts purchased from other sources.  Although we are working hard to control costs and provide you with the best energy value possible, some costs are outside of our control, such as peak demand times.

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Electric service is provided by La Porte City Utilities through a wholesale power contract with Resale Power Group of Iowa (RPGI).  Our current contract expires in November 2009. 

La Porte City Utilities purchased 16,239,464 kW in 2005 for a total annual cost of $629,511.82 ($0.0387 average cost per kW purchased).  This includes 934,752 kW purchased on the open market at a cost of $113,422.36.  The PCA (Power Cost Adjustment) revenue for 2005 was $91,269.57, $22,152.79 less than the open market kW purchased costs.  Per our contract, we can only generate if MISO calls upon us or if we deem necessary due to an outage or maintenance involving the in-coming line. 

                                                                 1935                              1983                               2005 

No. of Customers………………………….                          564                              1100                               1173
Avg. Cost per kWh………………………...                      $0.10                             $0.05                          $0.0819
Avg. Annual Usage per Resid. Cust.……                     1115                            11,818                           11,002
Total kW Sold for Year…………………...            629,000 kW                13,000,000 kW                15,225,000 kW
Peak Load………………………...............                   290 kW                         3500 kW                         3660 kW

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Water Rates and Information (effective 6/15/2006) 

Our water meters measure usage by the Cubic Foot.  There are approximately 7.5 gallons per cubic foot. 

All Services (per month)

From                      0    to         344CF                $0.0231
            Over                   344                                         $0.0231
            Minimum bill        344 CF                                    $7.94

Base Charge (per month)                                              $5.00 

Sales tax not included on above rates 

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La Porte City residents are currently supplied water through 2 wells and 1 standpipe water tower.  Well #4 was drilled in 1972 @ 1400 feet deep with a capacity of 600 gpm.  Well #3 was drilled in 1961 @ 280 feet deep with a capacity of 150 gpm.  Construction was completed in January 1974 on the current standpipe.  It holds approximately 400,000 gallons.  The previous water tower was demolished in August 1983. 

Wells #1 and #2 are no longer in use.  Well #1 was constructed in 1941 @ 257 feet deep with capacity of 90 gpm.  Well #2 was only 20 feet away from well #1.  It was constructed in 1948, 12” in diameter, and 250 feet deep with capacity of 225 gpm.  In February 2006 the well house for well #2 was demolished.  The well is still there with an extended casing to prevent contamination.  This water will be used to help cool the generators while running.

Other Services

Garbage, Dumpster rental, Sewer, and Mosquito Spraying rates and ordinances are set by the City Council.  The City contracts with La Porte City Utilities to do their monthly billing and receipt collections.  This way residents and commercial businesses only have one statement and one payment per month.  Click HERE for more information regarding these services.

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Billing Information

Meters are read around the 15^th of the month and the bills are mailed on (or as close as possible to) the 25^th of the month.  Current charges are due by the 15^th of the next month.  If payment is made after the 15^th, a 1 ½% penalty is added to the amount due. 

Late Notices are mailed to allow for at least 12 days of notice before the end of the month.  Balances must be paid by the last day of the month to avoid the $20.00 service charge.  If you will be unable to pay the whole amount due by the end of the month, call the office during business hours to make payment arrangements.  Making payment arrangements does not waive the $20.00 service charge; however, it will avoid a tag for disconnection. 

If neither payment nor arrangements have been made with the Utility office by the first day of the month a 24-hour notice is hung on the premises.  This gives an additional 24 hours to either make payment or arrangements before disconnection occurs.  Once electric services are disconnected, there is a $20.00 reconnect charge.  In order to reconnect electric services, payment must be made in full (including the $20.00 reconnect charge) with cash or money order or a Reasonable Agreement to Pay can be completed with payment of the $20.00 reconnect charge with cash or money order.  Services can be restored after hours by calling the regular number and leaving your information with the answering service.  They will page the employee on call. 

 A Reasonable Agreement to Pay will be offered to anyone who is not currently in default with a previous Reasonable Agreement to Pay.

 Post dated checks or checks to be held are not accepted.

    Budget Payment Plans:

A budget payment plan is available for the electric service portion of your bill.  All other services and surcharges are billed according to monthly usage and rates.  This will result in the total current charges not being the same amount month after month, but you do pay the same amount for electricity each month.  Sales tax is charged on the actual electric charges each month, not the budgeted amount.

In order to participate in the budget plan, accounts must be paid by the 15^th of each month.

Once a year, during July, all budgeted accounts are reviewed.  This allows us to account for higher or lower usage than was budgeted for.  If you are participating in the budget plan, and make any major changes (adding a new addition, switching from or to electric heat, plan on closing the house for more than 2 months, etc) please call the office.  It might be necessary to adjust your budgeted amount sooner than July.

    Auto-Payment

We do offer the option of having your account paid by auto-debit.  This is where the amount due is taken directly from your checking or savings account automatically on the 15^th of each month.  You will still receive your statement every month that shows the amount due.  At least a 30-day notice is required to start or stop this option.

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Starting and Stopping Service

   Starting Utility Services: 

Call during regular business hours to start or change services.  If you have not previously established good credit with La Porte City Utilities, our electric Tariff requires a $50.00 deposit for all residential services.  Deposit amounts vary for commercial businesses.  In order to establish good credit with La Porte City Utilities, you must have had services with us for at least 12-months previously with one (1) late payment or less.  It is important to call us before you move in.  This way we can get accurate meter readings and establish an account without disruption to your electric services.  An application for service will also need to be filled out before services are provided.

After 1 year (12 months) of timely payments your deposit will be applied to your account.  If you have two (2) or more late payments within those first 12 months, your deposit will be kept on file to be applied to your final statement.

    Ending Utility Services:

Call during regular business hours to stop utility services.  Please have the date you plan on leaving the premises or the closing date for the sale of your home as well as your forwarding address.  We calculate bills only once a month.  So if you stop services before the end of the billing cycle (from the 15^th to the 15^th) you will still receive your final statement around the 25^th.

If your deposit was not returned to you after your first year of service, it will be applied to your final statement.

   Snowbirds

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Rebates offered by La Porte City Utilities

If you install a 13-Seer or higher air-conditioner in your new home you qualify for a $400.00 rebate after proof of installation.

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Iowa One Call

Call 1-800-292-8989 at least 48 hours prior to all excavation. Iowa One Call is a free service.

Iowa law requires that any person, homeowner, professional, public or private entity, planning to engage in any form of excavation within the state of Iowa, must notify the Iowa One Call notification system, at 1-800-292-8989, at least 48 hours prior to excavating.  These calls are monitored and an immediate response can be coordinated for any emergency request (must involve risk of life or health).

The Iowa One Call notification system is a free call and a free service to all persons planning an excavation within the state of Iowa. The required 48 hours advance notice does not include Saturdays and Sundays or legal holidays.

The location request is received by Iowa One Call and a fax is sent to La Porte City Utilities to notify us of the request.  After receiving the request we will locate our electric lines (does not include any lines you or a previous homeowner may have had buried from your house to your garage, shed, etc.)  Other companies will locate their own telephone, gas, cable tv, etc.  Any and all service lines located in the area of excavation are your responsibility to locate.  La Porte City Utilities only marks water mains as the service lines are the property of the homeowner’s.