SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): December 5, 1997
Commission Exact Name of Registrant As IRS Employer
File Number No. Specified In Its Charter Identification
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1-12459 MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company 42-1451822
(An Iowa Corporation)
1-11505 MidAmerican Energy Company 42-1425214
(An Iowa Corporation)
666 Grand Avenue, P. O. Box 657, Des Moines, Iowa 50303-0657
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrant's telephone number, including area code: 515/242-4300
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
MidAmerican Energy Company, a public utility company and wholly
owned subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, announced on December
5, 1997 that coal delivery to some of the Company's electric generation
facilities continues to be impacted by the Union Pacific Railroad's nationwide
slow down of trains. A copy of MidAmerican's press release is attached as an
exhibit to this report.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS.
(c) Exhibits.
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Press Release of MidAmerican Energy Company dated December 5, 1997.
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SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
MIDAMERICAN ENERGY HOLDINGS COMPANY
MIDAMERICAN ENERGY COMPANY
/s/ Paul J. Leighton
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Paul J. Leighton
Vice President and Corporate Secretary
December 8, 1997
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December 5, 1997
Kevin Waetke, (515) 281-2785
MIDAMERICAN CONTINUES TO FEEL IMPACT OF NATIONWIDE SLOW DOWN IN COAL DELIVERY
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Coal delivery to MidAmerican Energy's Neal electric generation facilities
continues to be impacted by the nationwide slow down of trains by the Union
Pacific (UP) Railroad. Late Thursday, the Surface Transportation Board (STB), a
federal agency that regulates the railroad industry, determined that the rail
emergency it found in its Oct. 31, 1997 order continues to exist. The STB will
continue to exercise oversight of the emergency situation involving the UP
through March 15, 1998. The STB decision came at the end of a hearing that
allowed concerned parties, and the UP, to present comments regarding the current
emergency situation.
Over the past few months, the UP has had difficulty in delivering its customers'
assorted cargo, including coal and grain. MidAmerican's Neal generation
facilities near Sioux City are served exclusively by the UP. While MidAmerican
continues to experience coal inventory problems at its Neal generation facility,
deliveries have increased over the past two weeks. MidAmerican's coal inventory
is improving but remains lower than is desirable. The improvements are primarily
a result of actions MidAmerican has taken to conserve coal.
The UP's delivery problems have impacted MidAmerican's ability to sell energy to
other utilities. In an effort to preserve coal supply, MidAmerican is foregoing
opportunities to make such sales. In addition, MidAmerican elected to shut down
one of its Neal generating plants two weeks ago in an effort to increase its
coal inventory and perform required maintenance.
MidAmerican officials continue to work with UP officials to improve coal
transportation and build coal inventory to an appropriate level. To increase
coal deliveries, MidAmerican is asking UP to dedicate additional trains to serve
MidAmerican's Neal generation facilities beyond those already delivering to the
plants. While the situation has impacted energy sales to other utilities,
MidAmerican electric customers have not been impacted by the coal shortage.
MidAmerican Energy Company, Iowa's largest energy company, provides electric
service to 642,000 customers and natural gas service to 610,000 customers in
Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and South Dakota. Company headquarters are in Des
Moines, Iowa. Information about MidAmerican is available on the Internet at
http://www.midamerican.com.
