Iowans Join Concerned Citizens Across the U.S. to Put Berkshire Hathaway Energy and MidAmerican Energy on Notice

DES MOINES—A coalition of concerned citizens and organizations gathered on April 1st at the offices of MidAmerican Energy in downtown Des Moines to put Berkshire Hathaway Energy (BHE) on notice for harming the health and wealth of its captive customers. This event was planned in collaboration with organizations across BHE's service areas to show that customers are paying attention to BHE's proposed rate hikes, pollution, and other harmful actions. 

BHE is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the conglomerate led by Warren Buffett. Its energy portfolio consists of for-profit, monopoly utilities, including MidAmerican Energy Company, Pacific Power, Rocky Mountain Power, and NV Energy. Unlike other business ventures that compete for consumer business, Buffett’s energy utilities have complete monopolies over their service territories. Consumers have no choice but to do business with BHE utility companies.

On April 1, organizations across the entire BHE footprint coordinated actions to protest the anti-consumer behavior of these BHE monopoly utilities and urging them not to be ‘fossil fools’. Groups including Sierra Club throughout multiple states, the Iowa Environmental Council, Iowa Faith & Climate Network, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Moms Clean Airforce, and Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement participated as members of the Clean Up MidAm coalition. Third Act, PLAN, People’s Action Institute, CHISPA/LCV, Make the Road and Utah Needs Clean Energy also hosted events in Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.

“MidAmerican Energy spends millions of dollars a year trying to convince Iowans they have their best interest in mind, while in reality they are hurting the health and pocketbooks of the customers they serve,” said Jordan Oster, Energy Program Director at Iowa Environmental Council. “MidAmerican has a track record of lobbying for anti-consumer policies while polluting the air we breathe and groundwater throughout the state. Don’t let them fool you, the policies MidAmerican Energy advocates for in Iowa are not good for Iowans. These anti-consumer policies are straight from the BHE monopoly playbook they are using across the country.”

BHE’s continued reliance on coal generation in the Midwest and Western regions of the U.S. contributes to air pollution, negatively impacting public health. In places like Woodbury County, Iowa, where Berkshire’s subsidiary MidAmerican Energy runs two coal plants, the asthma rate ranks the highest of any county in the state. 

The coal ash waste and leachate from coal plant generation also contaminates local groundwater, leaking harmful toxins like arsenic, boron and mercury. Long-term exposure to these contaminants can cause heart, kidney, thyroid, gastrointestinal, neurological and other health problems. MidAmerican has even proposed dumping these dangerous chemicals directly into the Missouri River.

In addition to running the dirtiest set of coal plants in the country that harm the health of Americans, BHE  has a long history of prioritizing shareholder profits ahead of the long-term benefits of its utility customers across the country.In addition to the pollution problems facing the company, BHE  has advocated across states for anti-consumer policies that have faced broad objections from their customers. In states like Iowa and Nevada, BHE subsidiaries have made attempts to reduce or eliminate net metering (where solar panel owners can get credit for excess energy to use later). Because BHE’s utilities make money from building capital assets like generation and transmission, they have an incentive to invest in expensive physical assets and to keep customers purchasing energy from their systems so they continue to grow, but this approach is not popular with BHE customers.

Throughout the whole BHE footprint, BHE's lobbying efforts influence regulatory decisions and state law. Critics argue that this influence can lead to policies and practices that favor the company's financial interests over those of consumers, potentially resulting in higher rates or less consumer protection. 

“Here in Iowa, we’re calling on MidAmerican Energy to be transparent with Iowans about how much their generation resources are costing their customers and about the future of their fleet and workers,” said Matt Ohloff, Policy Advocate at the Environmental Law and Policy Center. “Iowans deserve to know that there is a responsible plan for our future and to have a voice in that plan.”   

For more information, visit www.cleanupmidam.com.