Dec. 6, a story about MidAmerican Energy’s potential rate increase was making the news. The company is expected to file with the Iowa Utilities Board (IUB) in February for an electricity rate increase of 3-4 percent. In anticipation of the filing, the IUB set the following public meeting schedule:

MidAmerican Energy Company Public Comment Meetings
All meetings will start at 5:30 p.m. as follows:

Feb. 23, Utilities Board Building, Hearing Room, 1375 E. Court Avenue, Des Moines.
Feb. 28, Modern Woodman Park, Suites 10 & 11, 209 S. Gaines Street, Davenport.
March 1, Peterson Town Hall, Waterloo Center for the Arts, 225 Commercial Street, Waterloo.
March 6, Briar Cliff College, 3303 Rebecca Street, Stark Student Center, Clare Room, Sioux City.
March 8, Johnson County Fairgrounds, 4261 Oak Crest Hill Road SE, Montgomery Hall, Iowa City.
March 13, Council Bluffs Library, Rooms A & B, 400 Willow Avenue, Council Bluffs.

Decide for yourself whether MidAmerican Energy needs a rate increase by reading the section of Warren Buffet’s 2010 annual letter to share holders here. The MidAmerican section starts on page 14. According to the document, the Iowa portion of MidAmerican Energy had earnings of $279 million in 2010, contributing to overall net earnings for the company of $1.238 billion.

The IUB will not be accepting public comments on MidAmerican’s proposed rate increase until the company files with them. Check out the IUB website here.