Information for college students

Power outages don’t happen often. If you ever smell rotten eggs or find yourself in the dark, however, here's what to know:

• Emergencies like downed power lines and natural gas odors, which might smell like rotten eggs, should be reported promptly to our call center. Please call us at 1-800-ALLIANT (800-255-4268). You could save that number in your phone right now so you have it handy.
• Non-emergency issues such as a power outage can be reported online through My Account.
• You can also log into My Account to see an outage map and keep up to date on when the power will be restored. While you’re logged in, sign up for notifications to receive updates via email, text or phone.

More information on how we restore power.

Learn how to avoid an electrical emergency and stay safe in your home.

Before you sign a lease, talk with your landlord about who pays for which utilities. Some landlords take care of utility expenses and recoup the cost through your rent. Others let renters handle this directly with local utility companies. So just ask!

While you’re at it, here are a few more questions for landlords:

• Will the electricity be on when I get there, or do I need to start service?
• Do I need to put utilities in my name?
• Who pays for air conditioning?
• What kind of meter do we have? Is it a smart meter?
• What kind of heating system does the house or apartment have? Furnace, boiler or baseboard?

Once you set up My Account, you can easily grant another person access to your account through these steps on a mobile device:

After you log into the app, click the More Menu in the lower left corner. Select Guest User. A window will pop up to request the following: 

-Select account: Select the account you would like to let the guest access.
-First name: Enter the guest's first name.
-Last name: Enter the guest's last name.
-Role: Select either "Full Access" or "View Only". If your guest will need to make changes or process transactions, such as payments, they need full access.
-Email: Enter your guest user’s email address.
-Access period: Indicate how long your guest can access your account. You can set this for as long as you want, until the end of your lease for example.

Accept the Terms of Use and hit Submit. The invited user will receive an email to activate their account.

Summer months tend to have higher electricity bills. Winter months tend to have higher natural gas bills. Keep in mind that energy costs will vary based on your location and usage.

If your new apartment or house is in the Alliant Energy service area, you can check its previous energy use and costs.

If you don’t like the fluctuation in costs from month to month, look into our Budget Billing and Fixed Amount Bill programs, which allow you to pay the same amount each month.

You pay for electricity based on how much you use. Small changes can make a big difference. Here are some suggestions:

• Switch to LED light bulbs instead of incandescent bulbs. It could save you as much as $75 a year. LEDs last a long time, so don’t forget to take them with you when you leave.
• Use advanced power strips to automatically power down devices that aren’t in use. If you’re in Iowa, be sure to visit our Marketplace when shopping for energy-efficient products. Wisconsin customers can get great deals at the Focus on Energy Marketplace.
• Change your thermostat by 10 degrees if you’re going out of town for the weekend. Make it warmer in the summer and cooler in the winter to save energy.

Get more energy saving tips

When it’s time to move out:

• You can stop service online through My Account.
• You can transfer your service to your new home if it also receives service from Alliant Energy.