Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for our members, partners and neighbors by providing safe, reliable and affordable electric services and other innovative solutions.

Service Area

Allamakee-Clayton Electric Cooperative was organized in 1938 by members like you because investor-owned utilities bypassed rural Iowa due to its sparse population.

ACEC provides electric power to more than 9,900 customers on 2,499 miles of line in portions of eight counties: Allamakee, Clayton, Fayette, Winneshiek, Chickasaw, Bremer, Delaware and Dubuque.

Located in the extreme northeast corner of Iowa, the state of Minnesota borders our service area on the north and the Mississippi River runs along our eastern border. Our headquarters is located at Postville which is geographically near the center of our service area. We maintain 24-hour, around-the-clock service. Our customer base is 95% farm and rural residential.

ACEC's wholesale power supplier is Dairyland Power Cooperative, based in La Crosse, Wis. Dairyland provides the wholesale electrical requirements for 25 electric distribution cooperatives and 17 municipal utilities.

ACEC offers load management programs for: home heating and water heating.

Home heating

By participating in ACEC's load management program, your electric home heating is very competitive with other fuel sources. Beyond being affordable, electric heat provides a clean, safe and consistent form of heat.

How does load management work? There are two types of load management for heating:

Dual fuel: Typically, on the coldest days of the winter, when demand for electricity is high, ACEC's power supplier sends a signal to your electric heating system to automatically switch to a backup non-electric heat source.  The backup source needs to be able to handle a control of 12 hours in any 24-hour period and should have an adequate supply of fuel for these periods. Electric heat can be interrupted at any time during the day or night to manage system peaks.

Heat storage: If your electric heating system is able to store heat (in-floor heat in a bed of sand or electric thermal storage technology) your system "charges" during off-peak hours when electric demand is low and then stores the heat energy so it is available whenever the thermostat calls for heat. A stored heating system is typically controlled up to 16 hours a day every day of the year during peak times. 

Water heating

Participation in ACEC's load management program for water heaters can save you money. Rather than starting up a power plant for a short period of time or purchasing additional power from another utility when prices are expensive, electric demand is reduced by controlling water heaters. There are two classifications of water heater control:

Residential:  Water heaters can be controlled at any time with the maximum control period not to exceed six hours in duration during any 10-hour period.

Dairy: Water heaters can be controlled up to six hours as required.

If Dairyland Power Cooperative determines that emergency conditions exist, control times can exceed the six-hour duration.