DES MOINES, Iowa – (October 19, 2021) – The sale of the Hudson Municipal Electric Utility to MidAmerican Energy has been officially certified after the citizens of Hudson, Iowa, voted to approve the sale last month. MidAmerican already provides the community with gas service and delivers electric service to the southwestern and northern areas of town.

 

The HMEU board of directors approved the sale of the distribution system for $3.81 million and voters overwhelmingly passed the referendum on September 14, 2021, with 444 residents voting for the sale and only 27 voting against. The sale will become final upon execution of an asset purchase agreement and regulatory approval from the Iowa Utilities Board, expected later this year. MidAmerican would begin serving customers in January 2022.

 

“MidAmerican is proud to deliver clean, reliable and affordable energy to part of Hudson already and now, we can provide the same to the rest of the community as we do throughout the entire Waterloo region and much of Iowa,” Kathryn Kunert, vice president of economic connections and integration at MidAmerican, said. “We have a long, proud history in working in the Cedar Valley and now are so pleased to be able to expand this partnership.”

 

Among the many benefits MidAmerican can bring to its new customers are rates that are 27-42% lower than HMEU’s rates when comparing existing rates for a sampling of customers. According to the Edison Electric Institute’s 2021 report, MidAmerican has the 11^th lowest rates in the nation with prices 32% below the national average.

 

“We are always looking for ways to make sure our citizens have reliable service at a low cost, and this is one way we can do that,” Hudson Mayor George Wessel said. “This was a citizen-led effort and we’re glad MidAmerican said yes to us too!”

 

In addition to high reliability and low rates, MidAmerican also delivered 83.6% of the energy its Iowa customers used in 2020 from renewable sources. Through the GreenAdvantage program, MidAmerican’s customers can claim the renewable energy attributes at no additional cost to meet their sustainability goals.

 

Building and maintaining an energy system that delivers reliable, affordable and sustainable energy requires constant care and investment. Transitioning electric service to an investor-owned utility, like MidAmerican, is one option communities have when evaluating how to best deliver a long-term value proposition to their residents, the company says.