High-voltage transmission line damaged in Swan Lake fire back online

A high-voltage power line on the Kenai Peninsula has been re-energized about six months before initial estimates projected.

The transmission line that carries power from the state’s largest hydroelectric plant at Bradley Lake near Homer to communities across the Railbelt was back online Thursday, according to a statement from Chugach Electric Association. The line was damaged in the massive Swan Lake fire, which was caused by a lightning strike in June and flared up dramatically amid hot, windy conditions in August.

The line had been out of service since Aug. 18. Chugach Electric says three structures associated with the line were damaged, but overall damage to the transmission line wasn’t as extensive as originally believed.

The Bradley Lake hydroelectric project, which came online in 1991, supplies up to 10% of the electricity needed by Railbelt utilities at about half the current cost of natural gas-fired generation.

Chugach Electric relied on natural gas to make up for the lost power generation, increasing its production costs by $2.7 million since the line went down, the utility said. That cost was passed on to rate payers.

Collectively, Chugach Electric members paid between $30,000 and $50,000 per day in additional power costs. Members using an average 600 kilowatt-hours per month saw about a $3 increase on their monthly bills, Chugach Electric said.

Municipal Light & Power customers in north Anchorage paid $13,000 per day in increased electricity costs. For Matanuska Electric Association members, the added cost was $12,000 per day.

Golden Valley Electric Association officials in Interior Alaska recently told their members that rates would increase by nearly 20% through February to cover the increased energy production costs. That’s an increase of $11 per month to average residential customer bills, according to the utility.

In total, the added costs to Southcentral and Interior electricity consumers due to the outage have exceeded $10 million, according to an estimate earlier this month from Matanuska Electric’s CEO.

The line repair work was done by Homer Electric Association. A representative of Homer Electric familiar with the details of the project was not immediately available.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.