Extra cash, extra cozy

Energy Assistance can help pay heating bills or weatherize your home. For income guidelines:

• In Iowa: Call 1-866-674-6327 or visit iowa.gov
• In Wisconsin: Call 1-866-432-8947 or visit wi.gov

We encourage customers to apply now because funds for this heating season are limited.

Eligibility for Energy Assistance is not affected by utility account or home ownership status. If you get behind on your energy bill, call us and we’ll work with you. We’re available at 1-800-255-4268 from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is important to keep current on payments during the winter so you’re not behind in the spring.

Alliant Energy creates new opportunity for Iowa jobs with unique industrial park

A new industrial park in the Cedar Rapids metro area will combine innovative features and expansive space to attract new businesses and jobs to Iowa.

“Alliant Energy’s Big Cedar Industrial Center is a game changer for the state. This large-scale, rail-served industrial site will provide the state of Iowa with a significant advantage as we compete for additional economic investments and new jobs,” said Debi Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority. “The site will offer businesses greater ability to move products throughout the country and the opportunity to partner with Alliant Energy to develop an energy strategy that meets their individual needs.”

The Big Cedar Industrial Center enables Iowa to compete for new, large-scale development. We are working with landowners to get nearly 1,300-acres under purchase options for the park, which is located in the southwest Cedar Rapids metro area. It is connected to several transportation options including rail, interstate and the Eastern Iowa Airport.

A site of this size is complementary to other industrial parks in the region, and can bring added attention to the area.

“This is a catalyst for economic development in our communities and our state,” said Jeanine Penticoff, vice president of Customer Engagement and Solutions at Alliant Energy. “We couldn’t do this alone. The landowners at this site have joined with us to help grow our region and our state. We are grateful for their involvement.”

We are working with the city of Cedar Rapids, the Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance to market the site for development nationally and internationally.

“This project brings together private and public investments to ensure Iowa is the national leader when it comes to connecting businesses to communities throughout the region,” said Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. “It will give the Iowa Economic Development Authority team an unprecedented tool to successfully recruit new companies, new development and new investment into our state.”

 Learn more at alliantenergy.com/economicdevelopment.

Without energy, Thanksgiving dinner wouldn’t be much to look forward to

A lengthy list of ingredients goes into every traditional holiday meal, and energy’s just about the least expensive.

We’re thankful we’re able to power holiday celebrations for more than one million customers. Without electricity and gas, cooking on Thanksgiving would be impractical at best and nearly impossible at worst.

The cost of a turkey feast changes every year. The same is true for the cost of energy needed to cook the meal. This year, the American Farm Bureau Federation figures the average Thanksgiving meal for 10 people will cost $49.87.

Depending on your appliances and where you live, the average electricity cost to make Thanksgiving this year is $1.69. If you are using gas appliances, the average cost is $0.43.

Thanksgiving meal	Electricity cost	Natural gas cost
16 lb. stuffed turkey roasted for 3.5 hours	$0.96	$0.25
Pan of mashed potatoes cooked on the stove for 20 minutes	$0.11	$0.02
Giblet gravy cooked on the stove for 10 minutes	$0.06	$0.01
Dinner rolls baked for 30 minutes	$0.14	$0.04
Green bean casserole baked for 30 minutes	$0.14	$0.04
Two pumpkin pies baked for one hour	$0.28	$0.07
Total energy cost	$1.69	$0.43

Here are nine energy tips to make your Thanksgiving dinner prep and cleanup easier and faster.

• Let the furnace rest. If your holiday cooking doesn’t heat up your house, your guests will. Turn your thermostat down three to five degrees to save energy while staying comfortable.

• Skip the preheating. The turkey is traditionally stuffed early in the morning and roasted for hours. When cooking meats or dishes for several hours, there is no need to preheat your oven.

• Use glass or ceramic pans. They heat faster than metal pans, and you can lower the temperature by 25 degrees, reducing energy use.

• Cooking together saves energy. Cook as much of your meal at one time as possible. Foods with different cooking temperatures can be cooked together, if the temperature difference is less than 25 degrees.

• Shut the oven door. This Thanksgiving, resist the urge to open the oven door and check the meal. Each opening of the door will decrease the temperature inside by 25 degrees. This means your oven has to use more energy to stay on temperature.

• Coast to the finish. Food keeps cooking even after you turn off the burner. When food is almost ready, turn off the oven or burners and let existing heat finish the cooking for you.

• Don’t overlook the microwave. Efficient microwaves use about half the energy of conventional ovens.

• Clean while it’s hot. If your oven needs a self-cleaning cycle, do it while the oven is still hot.

• Run a full load. Fill your dishwasher and you will use less hot water than doing them by hand.