In the meantime, they do their absolute best to read every meter every month, a company emphasis that started about two years ago. Again, weather drives this process into failure sometimes. But, missing a read two months in a row is simply unacceptable. So, come heck or high water, someone will come out and get the job done.

Stadheim also noted that should Alliant become shorthanded, they have a contractor that can step in quickly to conduct meter readings as long as needed. A year and a half ago, this was not the case, which caused some problems, as the staff was indefinitely shorthanded.

Topic number two of Stadheim’s dealt with billing. Customers may sign up for budget and/or auto pay. Budget pay is the same set payment for each month, which is based on the customer’s previous 12-month usage. Choosing this option will eliminate the annoying yo-yo effect on your wallet.

The other option is automatic payments. In this case, the money is taken directly out of the customer’s banking account. As mentioned earlier, automatic payments may also be coupled with the budget option.

Signing up for paperless billing on the Alliant website is very easy. All you do is enter your information for “My Account,” and you’re ready to go. Also, if you have a question, and the call center representative isn’t adequately assisting, ask to talk to a supervisor.

“There’s nothing worse for us having a customer question unanswered,” Stadheim said. “I’ve been with Alliant for 18 years, was born and raised in Albert Lea. We’re here, so let us know the issue.”

If waiting on the phone turns cumbersome, customers also have the option of entering account information via phone keypad. Once done entering your information, hang up and just be ready for the next available operator to call back.

Make sure to enter the current information, especially the right phone number, otherwise frustration will ensue. All that said, Geneva’s electric contract with Alliant ends in May. The gas portion will not end until 2014. Soon, Stadheim would like to start the dialogue for issuing a new contract.

Stadheim welcomed any questions, so Beenken opened the can of worms about summer rates. The council then learned that this rate is higher as there’s more generation of power from June 1 through September 30. Also, these summer months require more construction, hooking up of new customers, etc.; all contribute to this elevated cost.

The major concern of the council, the possible 22% rate increase, will not be officially decided until the third week of July. According to Stadheim, the increase in price will land anywhere between 0-22%. On that note, Bailey simply put, “We really need to sit down and discuss a lot of things as a council.”