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.
| Residential Energy Rates | Summer | Winter |
| First 400 kWh consumed | $0.0797/kWh | $0.0704/kWh |
| Next 600 kWh consumed | $0.0756/kWh | $0.0590/kWh |
| Remaining kWh | $0.0693/kWh | $0.0559/kWh |
| General/Commercial Energy Rates | Summer | Winter |
| First 2000 kWh consumed | $0.0849/kWh | $0.0662/kWh |
| Next 5000 kWh consumed | $0.0725/kWh | $0.0549/kWh |
| Over 7000 kWh | $0.0704/kWh | $0.0528/kWh |
Water
| Supplied By | City of Ames |
| Water Source | Well |
| Capacity of water plant | 12,000,000 gallons |
| 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
| 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 $6.05 charge/month; $1.55 per 100 cubic feet |
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 420,000 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).
| Maximum peak hour demand | 5,932 MW |
| Number of electric customers | 990,406 |
| Number of natural gas customers | 418,288 |
| Natural gas sold and transported | 114,573 (thousands of Dth) |
| Total utility electric sales | 33,088 (thousands of MWh) |
Telecommunications
Local telecommunications services for voice and data are provided by Iowa Telecom, Mediacom, McLeod USA, and Qwest.
