Cover and table of contents

10-K 1 lnt1231201510-k.htm 10-K

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

x	ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015

or

¨	TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from to

Commission File Number		Name of Registrant, State of Incorporation, Address of Principal Executive Offices and Telephone Number		IRS Employer Identification Number
1-9894		ALLIANT ENERGY CORPORATION		39-1380265
		(a Wisconsin corporation)
		4902 N. Biltmore Lane
		Madison, Wisconsin 53718
		Telephone (608) 458-3311
1-4117		INTERSTATE POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY		42-0331370
		(an Iowa corporation)
		Alliant Energy Tower
		Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
		Telephone (319) 786-4411
0-337		WISCONSIN POWER AND LIGHT COMPANY		39-0714890
		(a Wisconsin corporation)
		4902 N. Biltmore Lane
		Madison, Wisconsin 53718
		Telephone (608) 458-3311

This combined Form 10-K is separately filed by Alliant Energy Corporation, Interstate Power and Light Company and Wisconsin Power and Light Company. Information contained in the Form 10-K relating to Interstate Power and Light Company and Wisconsin Power and Light Company is filed by each such registrant on its own behalf. Each of Interstate Power and Light Company and Wisconsin Power and Light Company makes no representation as to information relating to registrants other than itself.

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

	Title of Class	Name of Each Exchange on Which Registered
Alliant Energy Corporation	Common Stock, $0.01 Par Value	New York Stock Exchange
Alliant Energy Corporation	Common Share Purchase Rights	New York Stock Exchange
Interstate Power and Light Company	5.100% Series D Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, $0.01 Par Value	New York Stock Exchange

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrants are well-known seasoned issuers, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark if the registrants are not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

Yes ¨ No x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants (1) have filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrants were required to file such reports) and (2) have been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants have submitted electronically and posted on their corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrants were required to submit and post such files). Yes x No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrants’ knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants are large accelerated filers, accelerated filers, non-accelerated filers, or smaller reporting companies. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

	Large Accelerated Filer		Accelerated Filer		Non-accelerated Filer		Smaller Reporting Company Filer
Alliant Energy Corporation	x
Interstate Power and Light Company					x
Wisconsin Power and Light Company					x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrants are shell companies (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ¨ No x

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by nonaffiliates as of June 30, 2015:

Alliant Energy Corporation	$6.5 billion
Interstate Power and Light Company	$—
Wisconsin Power and Light Company	$—

Number of shares outstanding of each class of common stock as of January 29, 2016:

Alliant Energy Corporation	Common stock, $0.01 par value, 113,465,499 shares outstanding
Interstate Power and Light Company	Common stock, $2.50 par value, 13,370,788 shares outstanding (all of which are owned beneficially and of record by Alliant Energy Corporation)
Wisconsin Power and Light Company	Common stock, $5 par value, 13,236,601 shares outstanding (all of which are owned beneficially and of record by Alliant Energy Corporation)

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the Proxy Statement relating to Alliant Energy Corporation’s 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareowners are, or will be upon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, incorporated by reference into Part III hereof.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

						Page Number
Definitions						1
Forward-looking Statements						3
Website Access to Reports						4
Part I.	Item 1. Business					5
		General				5
		Employees				5
		Regulation				6
		Electric Utility Operations				9
		Gas Utility Operations				19
		Other Utility Operations - Steam				22
		Non-regulated Operations				22
	Item 1A. Risk Factors					22
	Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments					29
	Item 2. Properties					30
	Item 3. Legal Proceedings					32
	Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures					32
	Executive Officers of the Registrants					33
Part II.	Item 5. Market for Registrants’ Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities					34
	Item 6. Selected Financial Data					35
	Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations					36
		Executive Summary				37
		Results of Operations				39
		Strategic Overview				48
		Rate Matters				54
		Environmental Matters				57
		Legislative Matters				61
		Liquidity and Capital Resources				61
		Other Matters				69
			Market Risk Sensitive Instruments and Positions			69
			New Accounting Standards			70
			Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates			70
			Other Future Considerations			73
	Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk					75
	Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data					75
		Alliant Energy Corporation:
			Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm			76
			Consolidated Statements of Income			77
			Consolidated Balance Sheets			78
			Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows			79
			Consolidated Statements of Common Equity			80

						Page Number
		Interstate Power and Light Company:
			Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm			81
			Consolidated Statements of Income			82
			Consolidated Balance Sheets			83
			Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows			84
			Consolidated Statements of Common Equity			85
		Wisconsin Power and Light Company:
			Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm			86
			Consolidated Statements of Income			87
			Consolidated Balance Sheets			88
			Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows			89
			Consolidated Statements of Equity			90
		Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
			1. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies			91
			2. Regulatory Matters			101
			3. Property, Plant and Equipment			106
			4. Jointly-owned Electric Utility Plant			108
			5. Receivables			108
			6. Investments			110
			7. Common Equity			111
			8. Redeemable Preferred Stock			112
			9. Debt			113
			10. Leases			115
			11. Income Taxes			116
			12. Benefit Plans			119
			13. Asset Retirement Obligations			134
			14. Fair Value Measurements			135
			15. Derivative Instruments			138
			16. Commitments and Contingencies			139
			17. Segments of Business			144
			18. Related Parties			147
			19. Discontinued Operations and Assets and Liabilities Held for Sale			148
			20. Selected Consolidated Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited)			149
	Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure					150
	Item 9A. Controls and Procedures					150
	Item 9B. Other Information					155
Part III.	Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance					155
	Item 11. Executive Compensation					155
	Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters					155
	Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence					156
	Item 14. Principal Accounting Fees and Services					156
Part IV.	Item 15. Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules					157
Signatures						161

DEFINITIONS

The following abbreviations or acronyms used in this Form 10-K are defined below:

Abbreviation or Acronym	Definition
2016 Alliant Energy Proxy Statement	Alliant Energy’s Proxy Statement for the 2016 Annual Meeting of Shareowners
AFUDC	Allowance for funds used during construction
Alliant Energy	Alliant Energy Corporation
ANR	ANR Pipeline
AOCL	Accumulated other comprehensive loss
ARO	Asset retirement obligation
ARRs	Auction revenue rights
ARRA	American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
ATC	American Transmission Company LLC
ATI	AE Transco Investments, LLC
Audit Committee	Audit Committee of the Board of Directors
Bent Tree	Bent Tree - Phase I wind farm
CA	Certificate of authority
CAA	Clean Air Act
CAIR	Clean Air Interstate Rule
CAO	Chief Accounting Officer
Cash Balance Plan	Alliant Energy Cash Balance Pension Plan
CCR	Coal combustion residuals
CDD	Cooling degree days
CEO	Chief Executive Officer
CFO	Chief Financial Officer
CO2	Carbon dioxide
CO2e	Carbon dioxide-equivalent
Columbia	Columbia Energy Center
Corporate Services	Alliant Energy Corporate Services, Inc.
CPCN	Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
CRANDIC	Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Railway Company
CSAPR	Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
CWIP	Construction work in progress
DAEC	Duane Arnold Energy Center
DATC	Duke-American Transmission Company, LLC
DCP	Alliant Energy Deferred Compensation Plan
DLIP	Alliant Energy Director Long Term Incentive Plan
DNR	Department of Natural Resources
Dth	Dekatherm
Edgewater	Edgewater Generating Station
EECR	Energy efficiency cost recovery
EEP	Energy efficiency plan
EGU	Electric generating unit
Emery	Emery Generating Station
EPA	U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
EPB	Emissions plan and budget
EPS	Earnings per weighted average common share
EVP	Executive Vice President
FASB	Financial Accounting Standards Board
FCS	Firm Citygate Supplies
FERC	Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Financial Statements	Consolidated Financial Statements
FTR	Financial transmission right
Fuel-related	Electric production fuel and energy purchases
FWS	U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
GAAP	U.S. generally accepted accounting principles
GHG	Greenhouse gases
HAPs	Hazardous air pollutants
HDD	Heating degree days
IBEW	International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers
IPL	Interstate Power and Light Company
IRS	Internal Revenue Service
ITC	ITC Midwest LLC

Abbreviation or Acronym	Definition
IUB	Iowa Utilities Board
KEESA	Key Executive Employment and Severance Agreement
Kewaunee	Kewaunee Nuclear Power Plant
KWh	Kilowatt-hour
Marshalltown	Marshalltown Generating Station
MATS	Mercury and Air Toxic Standard
MDA	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
MGP	Manufactured gas plant
MISO	Midcontinent Independent System Operator, Inc.
MPUC	Minnesota Public Utilities Commission
MVP	Multi-value project
MW	Megawatt
MWh	Megawatt-hour
N.A.	National Association
N/A	Not applicable
NAAQS	National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NBPL	Northern Border Pipeline Company
Neenah	Neenah Energy Facility
Nelson Dewey	Nelson Dewey Generating Station
NGPL	Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America
NNG	Northern Natural Gas Company
Northern Iowa Court	U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa
Note(s)	Combined Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
NOx	Nitrogen oxide
OIP	Alliant Energy 2010 Omnibus Incentive Plan
OPEB	Other postretirement benefits
PATH Act	Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act
PPA	Purchased power agreement
PSCW	Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
PSD	Prevention of Significant Deterioration
RECs	Renewable energy credits
Receivables Agreement	Receivables Purchase and Sale Agreement
RES	Renewable energy standards
Resources	Alliant Energy Resources, LLC
Riverside	Riverside Energy Center
RMT	RMT, Inc.
RPS	Renewable portfolio standard
SCR	Selective catalytic reduction
SEC	Securities and Exchange Commission
Sheboygan Falls	Sheboygan Falls Energy Facility
SIP	State implementation plan
SO2	Sulfur dioxide
SRP	Supplemental Retirement Plan
SSR	System Support Resource
U.S.	United States of America
VEBA	Voluntary Employees’ Beneficiary Association
VIE	Variable interest entity
VP	Vice President
WACC	Weighted-average cost of capital
Western Wisconsin Court	U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
Whiting Petroleum	Whiting Petroleum Corporation
WPL	Wisconsin Power and Light Company
WPL Transco	WPL Transco, LLC

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that are not of historical fact are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the safe harbors from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified as such because the statements include words such as “may,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “project, “will,” “projections,” “estimate,” or other words of similar import. Similarly, statements that describe future financial performance or plans or strategies are forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such statements. Some, but not all, of the risks and uncertainties of Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL that could materially affect actual results include:

•	federal and state regulatory or governmental actions, including the impact of energy, tax, financial and health care legislation, and of regulatory agency orders;

•	IPL’s and WPL’s ability to obtain adequate and timely rate relief to allow for, among other things, the recovery of fuel costs, operating costs, transmission costs, deferred expenditures, capital expenditures, and remaining costs related to EGUs that may be permanently closed, earning their authorized rates of return, and the payments to their parent of expected levels of dividends;

•	the ability to continue cost controls and operational efficiencies;

•	the impact of IPL’s retail electric base rate freeze in Iowa during 2016;

•	the impact of WPL’s retail electric and gas base rate freeze in Wisconsin during 2016;

•	weather effects on results of utility operations, including impacts of temperature changes in IPL’s and WPL’s service territories on customers’ demand for electricity and gas;

•	the impact of the economy in IPL’s and WPL’s service territories and the resulting impacts on sales volumes, margins and the ability to collect unpaid bills;

•	the impact of customer- and third party-owned generation, including alternative electric suppliers, in IPL’s and WPL’s service territories on system reliability, operating expenses and customers’ demand for electricity;

•	the impact of energy efficiency, franchise retention, customer- and third party-owned generation and customer disconnects on sales volumes and margins;

•	the impact that price changes may have on IPL’s and WPL’s customers’ demand for electric, gas and steam services and their ability to pay their bills;

•

developments that adversely impact the ability to implement the strategic plan, including unanticipated issues with new environmental control equipment for various fossil-fueled EGUs of IPL and WPL, IPL’s construction of Marshalltown, WPL’s proposed Riverside expansion, various replacements, modernization and expansion of IPL’s and WPL’s electric and gas distribution systems, Resources’ electricity output and selling price of such output from its Franklin County wind farm, and the potential decommissioning of certain EGUs of IPL and WPL;

•	issues related to the availability and operations of EGUs, including start-up risks, breakdown or failure of equipment, performance below expected or contracted levels of output or efficiency, operator error, employee safety, transmission constraints, compliance with mandatory reliability standards and risks related to recovery of resulting incremental costs through rates;

•	disruptions in the supply and delivery of natural gas, purchased electricity and coal, including due to the bankruptcy of coal mining companies;

•	changes in the price of delivered coal, natural gas and purchased electricity due to shifts in supply and demand caused by market conditions and regulations, and the ability to recover and to retain the recovery of related changes in purchased power, fuel and fuel-related costs through rates in a timely manner;

•	impacts on equity income from unconsolidated investments due to potential changes to ATC’s authorized return on equity;

•

issues associated with environmental remediation and environmental compliance, including compliance with the Consent Decree between WPL, the EPA and the Sierra Club, the Consent Decree between IPL, the EPA, the Sierra Club, the State of Iowa and Linn County in Iowa, the CCR rule, future changes in environmental laws and regulations, including the EPA’s regulations for CO2 emissions reductions from new and existing fossil-fueled EGUs, and litigation associated with environmental requirements;

•	the ability to defend against environmental claims brought by state and federal agencies, such as the EPA, state natural resources agencies or third parties, such as the Sierra Club, and the impact on operating expenses of defending and resolving such claims;

•	the ability to recover through rates all environmental compliance and remediation costs, including costs for projects put on hold due to uncertainty of future environmental laws and regulations;

•	impacts that storms or natural disasters in IPL’s and WPL’s service territories may have on their operations and recovery of, and rate relief for, costs associated with restoration activities;

•	the direct or indirect effects resulting from terrorist incidents, including physical attacks and cyber attacks, or responses to such incidents;

•	the impact of penalties or third-party claims related to, or in connection with, a failure to maintain the security of personally identifiable information, including associated costs to notify affected persons and to mitigate their information security concerns;

•	the direct or indirect effects resulting from breakdown or failure of equipment in the operation of gas distribution systems, such as leaks, explosions and mechanical problems, and compliance with gas distribution safety regulations, such as those that may be issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration;

•	risks associated with integration of a new customer billing and information system, which was completed in the first quarter of 2016;

•	impacts of IPL’s future tax benefits from Iowa rate-making practices, including deductions for repairs expenditures and allocation of mixed service costs, and recoverability of the associated regulatory assets from customers, when the differences reverse in future periods;

•	any material post-closing adjustments related to any past asset divestitures, including the sales of IPL’s Minnesota electric and natural gas assets, RMT and Whiting Petroleum, which could result from, among other things, warranties, parental guarantees or litigation;

•	continued access to the capital markets on competitive terms and rates, and the actions of credit rating agencies;

•	inflation and interest rates;

•	changes to the creditworthiness of counterparties with which Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL have contractual arrangements, including participants in the energy markets and fuel suppliers and transporters;

•	issues related to electric transmission, including operating in Regional Transmission Organization energy and ancillary services markets, the impacts of potential future billing adjustments and cost allocation changes from Regional Transmission Organizations and recovery of costs incurred;

•	current or future litigation, regulatory investigations, proceedings or inquiries;

•	Alliant Energy’s ability to sustain its dividend payout ratio goal;

•	employee workforce factors, including changes in key executives, collective bargaining agreements and negotiations, work stoppages or restructurings;

•	access to technological developments;

•	changes in technology that alter the channels through which electric customers buy or utilize power;

•	material changes in retirement and benefit plan costs;

•	the impact of performance-based compensation plans accruals;

•	the effect of accounting standards issued periodically by standard-setting bodies, including a new revenue recognition standard, which is currently expected to be adopted in 2018;

•	the impact of changes to production tax credits for wind farms;

•	the impact of adjustments made to deferred tax assets and liabilities from state apportionment assumptions;

•	the ability to utilize tax credits and net operating losses generated to date, and those that may be generated in the future, before they expire;

•	impacts of the extension of bonus depreciation deductions;

•	the ability to successfully complete tax audits and changes in tax accounting methods with no material impact on earnings and cash flows; and

•	factors listed in MDA and Item 1A Risk Factors.

Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL each assume no obligation, and disclaim any duty, to update the forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, except as required by law.

WEBSITE ACCESS TO REPORTS

Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL make their periodic and current reports, and amendments to those reports, available, free of charge, on Alliant Energy’s website at www.alliantenergy.com/investors on the same day as such material is electronically filed with, or furnished to, the SEC. Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL are not including the information contained on Alliant Energy’s website as a part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

PART I

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes information relating to Alliant Energy, IPL and WPL (as well as Resources and Corporate Services). Where appropriate, information relating to a specific entity has been segregated and labeled as such. Unless otherwise noted, the information herein excludes discontinued operations for all periods presented.