Utilities
Electric
Electric services in Ames are provided by the Ames Municipal Electric System (A.M.E.S.). Electric rates in Iowa are among the lowest in the nation and the electric rates of the Ames Municipal Electric System are lower than its neighboring utilities. In fact, A.M.E.S. hasn't had an electric rate increase since 1979. As a community-owned public power system, A.M.E.S. does not exist to maximize profits but to provide an essential service to residents. The benefits of the low rates extend to industrial, commercial, and residential customers.
(City of Ames, December 2008)
| Residential Energy Rates | Summer | Winter |
| First 400 kWh consumed | $0.0825/kWh | $0.0760/kWh |
| Next 600 kWh consumed | $0.0825/kWh | $0.0637/kWh |
| Remaining kWh | $0.0825/kWh | $0.0604/kWh |
| Small Commercial Energy Rates | Summer | Winter |
| First 2,000 kWh consumed | $0.0917/kWh | $0.0715/kWh |
| Next 5,000 kWh consumed | $0.0783/kWh | $0.0593/kWh |
| Over 7000 kWh | $0.0760/kWh | $0.0570/kWh |
Water
(City of Ames, December 2008)
| Supplied By | City of Ames |
| Water Source | Well |
| Capacity of water plant | 12,000,000 gallons per day |
| 2006 average consumption | 6,500,000 gallons per day |
| 2007 peak day consumption | 10,220,000 gallons per day |
| Consumption rate | $1.39 per one hundred (100) cubic feet |
Waste Water
(City of Ames, December 2008)
| Treatment type | Secondary |
| Design capacity | 12,000,000 gallons per day |
| 2006 annual wastewater treatment | 5,400,000 gallons per day |
| 2007 peak wastewater treatment | 28,000,000 gallons per day |
| Sewer |
Minimum $6.55 charge/month; $1.68 |
Natural Gas
Alliant Energy Corporation is a regulated, investor-owned public utility holding company that provides regulated electric and natural gas service to approximately 1 million electric and 400,000 natural gas customers in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Alliant Energy maintains a strong fleet of diverse electric generating facilities across the upper Midwest that together have a nameplate generation capacity of approximately 5,700 megawatts (MW).
(Alliant Energy, December 2008)
| 2007 Statistics | Totals |
| Maximum peak hour demand | 5,751 MW |
| Number of total electric customers | 980,850 |
| Number of total natural gas customers | 410,261 |
| Natural gas sold and transported | 113,750 (thousands of Dth) |
| Total utility electric sales | 32,931 (thousands of MWh) |
Telecommunications
Local telecommunications services for voice and data are provided by Iowa Telecom, Mediacom, McLeod USA, and Qwest.
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