Alliant says retail power sales fell 9% in April, forecasts a 5% decline for all of 2020

Houston — Alliant Energy said Friday its first-quarter 2020 operations were not significantly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, but April saw all classes of its retail power sales decline by 9%, with a 13% decline in its commercial and industrial sales offset somewhat by a 4% increase in the residential sector.

The company's chief financial officer, Robert Durian, told analysts during its Q1 earnings conference call he was now expecting "a decline of 5% of Alliant's overall retail sales this year."

Alliant's utilities and corporate services operations generated 72 cents/share of GAAP earnings per share in Q1, an increase of 20 cents/share year on year.

The primary driver of the increase was higher rate bases for Alliant's two utilities: Interstate Power and Light, which is active in Iowa, and Wisconsin Power and Light. A rate hike for IPL that had earlier been approved by the Iowa Utilities Board went into effect February 26.

Nonetheless, in Q1, Alliant said: "These items were partially offset by lower electric and [natural] gas sales volumes largely caused by warmer-than-normal temperatures in early 2020 and higher depreciation expenses."

'GENERATION TRANSITION'

John Larsen, Alliant's CEO, told analysts that as part of the company's "generation transition," it brought 400 MW of wind capacity online in Iowa in Q1, and expected to add 200 MW of additional wind capacity "later this year."

On March 27, IPL's 200-MW Golden Plains Wind facility in north central Iowa achieved commercial operation. The facility was built by EDF Renewables.

It also brought online in Q1 its 200-MW Whispering Willow North facility in Franklin County near the center of the state. The facility is an expansion of its 200-MW Whispering Willow East Wind farm, which was brought online in 2009.

The 130-MW Richland wind farm under construction in Sac County, in the western part of Iowa, is forecast to become commercial in the third quarter of 2020.

By the end of 2020, Alliant said it expects its Iowa operations to own and run 1,299 MW of wind generation.

Alliant's WPL unit is expected to bring its 150-MW Kossuth Wind facility online in the final quarter of 2020. That facility is being built by Invenergy in Kossuth County, Iowa, which is in northern Iowa near the border with Minnesota. WPL has said the facility will generate power "on behalf" of its Wisconsin customers.

"This will complete our 1,000 MW of new renewables approved by the Iowa Utility Board," Larsen said, "and the 150-MW approved by the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin."

Larsen added that Alliant is "now entering the regulatory approval phase" of its proposed 1,000 MW solar buildout in Wisconsin.

"We are in advanced discussions with developers and anticipate filing a certificate of authority for approximately two-thirds of the 1,000 MW by the end of this quarter," he said.