Information about Electric Franchises

The IUB's Safety and Engineering Section is responsible for reviewing and processing all petitions for electric transmission line franchises under Iowa Code chapter 478, Electric Transmission Lines, and IUB rules at 199 Iowa Administrative Code chapter 11, Electric Lines, and chapter 25, Iowa Electrical Safety Code. A franchise is the authorization of the IUB for the construction, erection, maintenance, and operation of an electric transmission line. The granting of a franchise requires a finding by the IUB that the project is necessary to serve a public use, represents a reasonable relationship to an overall plan of transmitting electricity in the public interest, and meets all other legal requirements. 

Electric Franchise Forms 

Other Information

Training Resources

One Call Underground Locate Service, Damage Prevention, One Call Complaints and Violation Enforcement by the Attorney General

To avoid a potential accident caused by excavation, have the location of all utility lines marked before excavating by hand or with equipment. To comply with Iowa law, in accordance with Iowa Code chapter 480, Underground Facilities Information, you must contact Iowa One Call at 811 or 800.292.8989 a minimum of two days (excluding Saturday, Sunday and state holidays) before excavation begins. If a contractor is performing the excavation work, make sure the contractor calls Iowa One Call two days prior to excavating and the utilities have been marked before digging begins.

After Iowa One Call is contacted, the following will happen:

  • Operators with underground facilities in the area where the excavation is planned are notified. This includes natural gas and power utilities, communications companies, and cities and towns.
  • Within 48 hours after being contacted, utility companies either mark their underground facilities with color-coded paint marks or flags, or tell the excavator they have no lines in the area.

Visit the Iowa One Call website for more information about damage prevention and Iowa One Call.

The Office of the Attorney General enforces the One Call Law. See more information about One Call Complaints and enforcement through the Attorney General's Office.

Searching for Electric Franchise Filings

All public filings and IUB orders regarding electric franchise filings (E-dockets) are available on the IUB's electronic filing system (EFS). To search for documents related to franchise petitions, click the EFS link, select Search from the top navigation menu, and scroll down to Document Search. This will open a document search screen. Enter the docket number (E-XXXXX) relating to the electric franchise for which you would like more information and click the Search button. This will provide a list of all documents filed online with the IUB in that proceeding.

If you do not know the specific docket number, you must do a docket search to determine the docket number. To start, click the EFS link, select Search from the top navigation menu and scroll down to Docket Search. This will open a docket search screen. Select E - Electric Franchise or Extension from the Docket Type drop-down box and then select the company name from the Primary Company drop-down box. Be sure to click the Add button to add the company to the search parameters. After entering the search terms, click the Search button to display a list of all E-dockets for that company. To narrow the search to a particular county, include the county name in the Docket Description field, surrounded by the percent sign (%) as a wild card character.

Franchise records can be found by performing a Franchise Search in EFS under the Search dropdown menu. Franchise records provide specific information about the franchise, including the docket where the franchise was issued, primary company, issue and expiration dates, line voltage information, and more.

Electric Franchise Information Contact:
Kevin Yearington
Safety & Engineering Manager
Iowa Utilities Board
iub@iub.iowa.gov

Media Inquiries Contact:
Don Tormey
Director of Communications 
Iowa Utilities Board
515-725-7347
don.tormey@iub.iowa.gov

Printed from the website on February 05, 2023 at 12:51pm.