Southeast Alaska: Milestone in the Kake - Petersburg Intertie Permitting Process - Efforts to link Kake to low cost hydropower via the nearby community of Petersburg have been underway for a long time and now a major milestone in the development of an electrical power line that could eventually connect the two communities has been announced.

Kake, Alaska
Photograph courtesy USFS

The Forest Service has issued a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the project, and a 45-day comment period on the document began on December 26th. A final decision on the project is expected in July 2015.

At 62 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), Kake currently pays one of the higher electrical rates in the nation. The community of Kake is presently served by an isolated electric system that depends upon high-cost, diesel generation. This isolated system is served by a diesel plant that consists of three diesel generators originally installed in 1984 (1 unit) and 1993 (2 units). High operation and maintenance expenses and high fuel costs make diesel generators costly to operate. In 2011, the full retail cost of power in Kake was 62 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh), more than five times the rate in the communities of Petersburg, Ketchikan, and Wrangell (Fay et al. 2012). The cost of electricity in Kake is currently subsidized for residential customers and public facilities through the State of Alaska’s Power Cost Equalization (PCE) program, which is funded on an annual basis by the State legislature. However, commercial use pays full rate.

The proposed project would connect Kake to SEAPA’s interconnected network and provide access to relatively low cost electricity. SEAPA’s interconnected network includes the communities of Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg, the Swan Lake and Lake Tyee hydroelectric projects, and approximately 175 miles of transmission line that extend from Ketchikan to Petersburg.

The Forest Service proposes to authorize the construction, operation, and maintenance of the proposed Kake and PetersburgIntertie Project across National Forest Service lands. A special use authorization would need to be issued to allow this use.

Southeast Conference began focusing on a plan to implement a regional electrical intertie in earnest in 1997, and in 2002, the Kake-Petersburg intertie segment was prioritized by the Conference and its membership due to Kake’s close proximity to Petersburg, and the fact that Kake is 100% dependent on diesel-generated electricity. Businesses in Kake pay five to six times the amount for electricity that customers in Petersburg do. The power line between the communities would be between 52 and 60 miles long, depending on the route.

Shelly Wright, Executive Director of Southeast Conference credits Kake mayor Henrich Kadake with getting the project to this stage. “This project could bring such value to the residents of Kake and we are hopeful it will be completed. Without the perseverance and determination of Mayor Kadake this would not have happened.”

Mayor Kadake had this to say about the project. “I’ve been working on this project for at least 15 years, but I never gave up on it. In the last 10 to 12 years, we have really pushed hard on this. We need lower cost energy in Kake. Affordable energy would make a big difference in this community. It would mean that people could create their own businesses. It would really help places like our cold storage that only operates for three months out of the year. We want to be able to afford to run it year round. This review process is one of the last steps of getting everything permitted and shovel ready. Hopefully one day it will be funded and we can build it.”

The project represents agreements between a number of players from across the region, including the communities of Petersburg and Kake, the Southeast Alaska Power Agency, the Inside Passage Electric Cooperative, the Alaska Energy Authority, as well as the significant efforts of Robert Venables, the Southeast Alaska Energy Coordinator for Southeast Conference. “Joint efforts such as this is what living in Southeast Alaska is all about and truly embodies the mission of Southeast Conference. It speaks to the importance of taking care of each other in the region and making sure everyone has something to hang on to,” noted Wright. - More...
Thursday PM - January 01, 2015

Alaska: Governor Appoints Education & Administration Commissioners - Governor Bill Walker has announced the appointments of two more commissioners to his new administration.

Monday, Sheldon Fisher was appointed by Governor Bill Walker as Commissioner of the Department of Administration and he re-appointed Mike Hanley as Commissioner of the Department of Education.

“Sheldon has 20 years of management experience in the private sector that will be helpful in some of the challenges we have,” Governor Walker said. “He’s dealt with cost-cutting while increasing revenues. I’m very pleased to have Sheldon heading up the Department of Administration; it’s the center of state government operations.”
Fisher recently worked as Chief Operating Officer at McKinley Capital Management, LLC in Anchorage. Prior to McKinley, Fisher spent 15 years in the telecommunications industry—both in the Lower 48 and in Alaska. Fisher worked for six years at Alaska Communications, where he served as senior vice president of sales and product marketing.

While at Alaska Communications, Fisher was instrumental in the expansion of the wireless business, tripling revenue to $180 million, while the firm cut costs. Prior to joining Alaska Communications, he worked at Sprint where he led the turnaround of a struggling division and saved the company a $1.7 billion investment. - More...
Thursday PM - January 01, 2015

Alaska: Pick.Click.Give. looks to Alaskans to warm their hearts and double their dividends by sharing their PFDs - When Alaskans begin filing for their 2015 Permanent Fund dividends today, they will have the chance to share their PFDs with nonprofit organizations across Alaska. Last year, Pick.Click.Give. offered ten lucky Alaskans the opportunity to double their dividend and in October 2014, those 10 Alaskans received a second dividend totaling $1,884 – just by choosing to Pick.Click.Give.

“With the Double Your Dividend sweepstakes, it was exciting to see so many Alaskans make the choice to support Alaska nonprofit causes,” said PCG Program Manager Heather Beaty. “With the raise in participation we saw by offering the sweepstakes last year, we are excited to offer it again in 2015. We hope to continue to see Alaskans to be motivated to share a small part of their PFD with causes they care about.”

The Double Your Dividend Sweepstakes is a way to encourage Alaskans who may not have participated in the program before, to donate to nonprofits they care about in a convenient and safe way. PCG has completed research and found that 78 percent of Alaskans have knowledge of the program, but just under five percent of Alaskans donated in 2014. - More...
Thursday PM - January 01, 2015