MidAmerican pushes back on report’s misleading claims about rates and utility profits

Bottom line: Unique Iowa structure caps MidAmerican profits, redirecting additional benefits to customers already paying some of the nation's lowest rates

DES MOINES, Iowa (Mar. 18, 2026) - MidAmerican Energy's residential electric rates in Iowa rank sixth lowest nationwide and are 44% below the national average, according to the latest analysis by the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

The new ranking is, in part, due to MidAmerican's unique profit cap structure in Iowa, wherein earnings above the cap are redirected toward benefiting customer rates. Through this special agreement with the Iowa Office of Consumer Advocate and other customer and stakeholder groups - and approved by the Iowa Utilities Commission - MidAmerican's earnings are capped. In 2025, the threshold was 10.3%.

A recent analysis by The Energy & Policy Institute - a special interest group that's critical of investor-owned utilities - and reported by Stateline, claimed MidAmerican took in an average profit margin of 27% from 2021-2024. The report made a flawed correlation between MidAmerican's profits and the rates our customers pay.

When profits reach the cap, the company returns 90% of the earnings above the threshold to customers - not to shareholders - in the form of reduced earnings and reduced electric rate base. Electric rate base is the total value of the company's assets that serve electric customers, including generating plants, power lines and substations. Reducing rate base lowers what customers pay long-term. It's much like paying off a mortgage early, without customers having to pay any extra. Additionally, when needed and approved by the Iowa Utilities Commission, earnings above the threshold are used to help offset customers' electric fuel costs.

"The pressure group's incomplete report, which focuses on a single 'profit margin' figure, simply does not accurately capture how MidAmerican's business works or how our customers benefit," said Blake Groen, vice president and chief financial officer. "MidAmerican's long term focus on operational efficiency, disciplined cost control and investments in no fuel cost wind generation has helped keep rates low and stable while improving reliability and sustainability."

In large part because of MidAmerican's low and stable rates, Iowa customers have experienced the lowest electric retail rate increases of any state over the past five years, according to a recent Edison Electric Institute analysis of EIA data. EIA reports show Iowans pay among the nation's lowest electric rates overall.

A misleading comparison
The interest group's report also points to utilities located within mid-Atlantic grid operator PJM Interconnection's region as having lower reported margins, implying that lower margins naturally translate into lower customer bills. The report's comparison is incomplete and misleading.

In fact, many PJM states have some of the highest electric bills in the country, despite utilities operating with lower margins. Customer bills are driven by a range of factors that have little to do with utility returns, including:

• Heavy reliance on fuel-based generation with volatile natural gas prices
• Grid congestion and capacity costs in organized wholesale markets like PJM
• Higher transmission and market-related charges that flow directly to customers
• Less long term investment in no-fuel-cost resources

By contrast, MidAmerican's model focuses on stable, regulated investment, long term planning and significant deployment of no fuel cost renewable energy. That approach reduces exposure to fuel price spikes and wholesale market volatility - key drivers of customer bills in PJM grid states.

In Iowa, MidAmerican customers benefit from strong regulatory oversight, capped profits and a sustained commitment to keeping rates affordable - something the company has consistently delivered for more than two decades.

About MidAmerican Energy Company
MidAmerican Energy, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, serves 838,000 electric customers in Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota, and 811,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. Information about MidAmerican is available at MidAmericanEnergy.com and company social media channels.