(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Utilities Board is about to close the file on their order seeking information on preparedness and handling of electric blackouts by utility companies in the state. I-U-B attorney, Jon Tack, told the board today (Tuesday) the action was taken in May after predictions by a couple of national groups about electricity availability. “We will not going to have sufficient generation available to meet peak load demands and that could result in load shedding, required temporary blackouts for Iowans,” Tack says citing the prediction. There have not been any widespread blackouts caused by lack of electricity. Tack says the I-U-B could end its oversight of the situation next month.

“We’re not quite through the peak demand season but we’re close and assuming that things go well and that we don’t have anything happened in the next few weeks — I would expect we could propose closing this docket in September,” Tack says.

The Georgia-based North American Electric Reliability Corp regulatory authority is one of the groups that had warned in the spring of the potential for the rolling blackouts, citing the increase in summer demand and drop in electricity production.