Recent weeks have seen a flurry of executive orders, layoffs, canceled projects and frozen funds. Uncertainty looms large.
But there is one clear opportunity for Congress to act, and to bring clarity and stability to federal policy. That opportunity is coming up: Budget reconciliation is the process Congress uses to write the federal budget. That process presents a critical opportunity — and risk — for Alaska’s future.
At stake are significant tax credits, loans and grants for renewable energy and transmission projects. We are calling on our congressional delegation — Rep. Nick Begich, Sen. Dan Sullivan, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski — to fight to protect these incentives so Alaska can continue our drive toward energy security and self-determination.
We are a group of former Alaska legislators, Republican and Democrat, who represented communities from Southeast to the Interior. Today, we are reaching out to Alaskans with a united front to encourage our congressional delegation and all Alaskans to speak out.
Alaska has the second-highest electric costs in the nation after Hawaii. Apart from Hawaii, we are the only state not connected to the North American grid. We face high price volatility and low control over supply. Cook Inlet natural gas supplies are dwindling. Rural Alaska is largely dependent on costly diesel shipped in via barge and small plane.
Across Alaska, communities have long dreamed of growing our energy security and independence through local generation and reliable transmission. With large-scale federal energy investments approved in 2021 and 2022, we were on the verge of bringing these dreams to reality.
For example, Alaska was awarded or anticipated:
- Federal matching funds to upgrade our rickety Railbelt transmission system that serves 70% of Alaska’s population and supports five U.S. military installations.
- A federal grant for coastal communities from Ketchikan to Kodiak to install residential heat pumps, which provide reliable heat and slash electric bills.
- Tax credits to help finance the state’s largest solar array, which would generate affordable local energy and reduce pressure on limited Cook Inlet natural gas supplies.
- Funds to help capitalize the state’s newly created Alaska Energy Independence Fund.
- Funds to develop local energy generation and storage in remote communities across the state — from a hydroelectric project near Angoon to solar arrays in eight Northwest Alaska villages.
These projects create jobs, save ratepayers money and boost our energy security. And the more we can shift the residential heating load to renewable sources, the more we can preserve scarce natural gas for electric generation — or for export, should a gasline be built.
But these projects and many more are now in jeopardy — in many cases despite federal letters of award and signed contracts. We call on our congressional delegation to stand up for these funds and for Alaska.
These are not handouts. Thirty-six percent of all federal lands are within Alaska. Alaska has a unique strategic role as the nation’s anchor in the Arctic, particularly as the federal government looks to bolster military presence in the Arctic to counterbalance actions by Russia and China.
Decades ago, massive federal infrastructure investments brought the Lower 48 states affordable electricity and transportation. Federal energy incentives adopted in 2021 and 2022 were setting Alaska on a course to build the affordable, reliable energy infrastructure the rest of the nation has long enjoyed.
Those investments are now being clawed back, with no appreciable upside for Alaskans.
Congress is the appropriating body for the federal government. Alaska’s congressional delegation has direct influence over federal funding decisions through the upcoming budget reconciliation process.
Energy is essential. Chris Wright, President Trump’s energy secretary, in a speech to his department following his Senate confirmation in February, said it well:
“Energy is not political. It’s the basic infrastructure that allows us to live great lives, to allow whatever our dream is, whatever our vision is. We all have different dreams, we all have different visions, but we have to have energy and resources to realize whatever that is.”
Alaskans, please join us in urging our congressional delegation - Rep. Begich, Sen. Sullivan and Sen. Murkowski - to fight hard and fight proud to ensure Alaska has the energy and resources to realize our dreams. Stand up for our state and stand up for our future.
Lesil McGuire, Harry Crawford, Beth Kerttula, Charisse Millett and Gene Therriault served a combined 70 years in the Alaska Legislature. They are bipartisan senior advisors to New Energy Alaska, a coalition working to bring the benefits of clean energy to Alaska.
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