Juneau's Legislative Delegation

Dear Neighbor:

This is the fifth email from your Juneau legislative delegation about the impacts of the Snettisham transmission lines being down.

If you have any questions or concerns about these or other issues, please let us know. We really appreciate all the calls, emails, and letters we have received and we are working hard to make sure every Juneauite stays safe through this crisis.

AEL&P filed another proposal with the RCA that will allow them to split electricity bills so consumers will only be paying the higher rates for energy consumed after the avalanches on April 16. Juneauites will not start receiving bills reflecting the higher rates until May 16.

The United Way of Southeast Alaska and Catholic Community Services, through a grant from the City and Borough of Juneau, have established Juneau Unplugged, a program to provide temporary avalanche-related electric bill payment assistance. This program will be available to households within the income eligibility guidelines listed in the table below.

Household Size	Gross Income
1	$26,000
2	$35,000
3	$44,000
4	$53,000
5	$62,000
6	$71,000
7	$80,000
8	$89,000

Juneau Unplugged has been working with various agencies throughout the community and if you participate in a financial assistance program such as Public Assistance or AHFC housing, you should receive a letter verifying income eligibility. Because this is an entirely new program, it is not set in stone and things may change. However, the current plan is to cover approximately 70% of the increased costs. Juneau Unplugged will begin to accept applications on May 16 (when the first high bills come out). For an application form, click here. You may also wish to view the eligibility guidelines, FAQs, and press release. For a full list of available assistance we have compiled, click here.

On May 9, the Governor signed a Small Business Administration (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Declaration upon recommendation of the Disaster Policy Cabinet. This declaration will allow small businesses suffering substantial economic injury to apply for low interest loans through the SBA. The Juneau delegation strongly encouraged the Governor to make this declaration on May 8 (read our letters here).

AEL&P staff is working on payment plans to assist customers who will simply not be able to afford to cover their electric bills during this crisis. If you have concerns regarding their elevated bills, AEL&P says the first step should be to come see their Credit Counselors and discuss assistance programs and payment options.

We have written to the Governor several times (on April 17, April 25, May 5, and May 8) requesting that she take action to provide support for Juneau in various ways. On May 9, we received a response letter from General Craig Campbell of the Department of Military & Veterans Affairs, which you may view here. We have asked to meet with the Governor, and you may read our letter here.