WASILLA -- Matanuska Electric Association says regional electric plans won't affect its pursuit of a natural gas plant to serve Eagle River and Mat-Su customers.
Utility cooperative representatives were at an Anchorage meeting of utility leaders and others Thursday, participating in a two-year state-funded Railbelt Electrical Grid Authority study.
Kevin Harper with energy consulting firm Black & Veatch presented preliminary study results that analyzed how Railbelt utilities would be affected if they combined generation and transmission duties. Harper's presentation estimated utilities could save between $10 and $30 million each year over 30 years by consolidating into a single, state-run entity. Harper said the utilities, many of them member-owned cooperatives, could continue to operate as energy distributors.
MEA spokeswoman Lorali Carter said after the meeting that MEA administrators have previously backed plans for a traditional generation and transmission cooperative along the Railbelt but are concerned that a state-run entity, overseen by governor-appointed board members, might be too subject to political whims.
Further, Harper's presentation suggested that the authority might have easier access to tax-free financing if it was not subject to regulation by the state Regulatory Commission of Alaska. Carter said MEA would prefer that the new entity remain under Regulatory Commission control.
Anchorage Daily News