Opinion: The future of Eklutna power

Has been updated: 1 1 minute ago release date: 1 1 minute ago

At the end of April, the Chugach Electric Association, Inc. Board of Directors joined other owners (City of Anchorage, Matanuska Electric Association, Inc. of the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project) to implement a significantly improved fish and wildlife program. It was unanimously resolved to submit the proposal. The proposal was refined through public comment, numerous meetings with partner state and federal agencies, and a meeting with the Eklutna Indian Village, and if approved by the governor, the final program proposal would be part of a long-standing conservation effort. I will start on it. , reduce damage to and improve project-affected Eklutna River and fish and wildlife habitat along the river.

We recognize how important the Eklutna River’s fish and wildlife resources are to communities in southcentral Alaska, especially the Eklutna Indian Village. To that end, the Chugach Commission is stepping up instream habitat restoration efforts under a draft proposal released in October in hopes of accelerating the return of salmon to rivers in the coming decades. I supported that. The proposal also includes provisions to increase water inflows in the future, as it is expected that the flow into the reservoir will increase and salmon will return upstream.

Mitigation measures will be implemented and the success of these measures will be monitored for 10 years, which may also include efforts to restore upstream and downstream fish passageways to support sockeye salmon returning to Lake Eklutna. We are confident that this important “restart” provision in the final program proposal will encourage utilities, municipalities, Eklutna Indian Village, state and federal resource agencies, and other partners to work toward the common goal of creating We believe it will create meaningful opportunities for continuity. Maintaining fish habitat, Anchorage’s drinking water, and promoting renewable energy.

Although some argued for delaying sending recommendations to the governor, owners were legally obligated to move forward with recommendations now. We also wanted to publish new elements of the final draft plan as soon as possible, which reflect the efforts of many stakeholders since last October. Community members and ratepayers need to fully understand the balance the owner sought to strike between the potential for salmon habitat recovery and the economic impact on taxpayers and ratepayers. .

We also strongly believe that we cannot jeopardize the real progress Chugach is making to expand its renewable generation portfolio and protect Chugach members from the negative price impacts of impending natural gas shortages. I am. Currently, we rely on hydropower for low-cost, “dispatchable” electricity to meet peak loads when other renewable resources such as wind are not available. This winter, Eklutna and Bradley Lake hydroelectric facilities are working to prevent widespread power outages in the South Central as extreme cold-weather operational restrictions have significantly reduced gas supplies from the Cook Inlet Alaska Natural Gas Storage Area (CINGSA). Both became important.

Alaska’s energy landscape is changing rapidly. We hope that promising technologies for renewable, low-carbon power generation will change reliance on the Eklutna project over time. Other factors influencing project dependence include electricity sales, changes in natural gas supply, and potential renewable portfolio standards. As a board, we are greenlighting projects to improve power generation flexibility from Cooper Lake and access to Bradley Lake. We have invested in battery storage and new solar power projects. More wind projects are planned, including Little Mt Susitna, and research into energy storage and tidal energy expansion is underway.

The original project was built by the federal government in 1955 but was sold to MOA, MEA, and Chugach in 1997. Residents and businesses in southcentral Alaska have benefited from the project’s low-cost electricity for decades. As a Board, we are committed to fulfilling our obligations under the 1991 Agreement to protect, reduce harm to, and improve fish and wildlife habitat in and along rivers affected by our projects. .

Chair Sam Cason; Vice-president sissy cooper; accounting Rachel Morse; secretary Suzanne Freak-Green; and director Bettina Chastain, Mark Wiggin and Jim Nordlund He is a member of the Chugach Electric Association Board of Directors.

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