Serving Muldoon and
Northeast Anchorage

Representative
PETE PETERSEN
Visit my Website
Write me an email

Contact my office:
State Capitol Bldg.
4th Floor, Room 422
Juneau, AK 99801
(907) 465-4939

Contact the Governor
Governor Parnell's Anchorage office may be reached at 269-7450, or e-mail him at sean.parnell@alaska.gov
You can also visit the state website at www.state.ak.us

Congressman Don Young,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-5978
EMAIL: Rep. Don Young

Senator Lisa Murkowski,
Anchorage Office:
907-271-3735,
EMAIL: Sen. Lisa Murkowski

March 19, 2010

State Energy Policy Passes the House;
Electric Utility Partnership Legislation Under Review

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

     This week the House passed an historic bill adopting a statewide energy policy, and the bill now goes to the Senate for their consideration.  As a member of the House Energy Committee, I have been working on this since I entered the Legislature.  The committee took testimony all across the state, and this summer and fall we formed a group of stakeholders with expertise in various aspects of energy policy.  This group included a diverse group of people including representatives of resource development industry, environmental groups, economic development organizations, and people from both urban and rural communities.  Despite their varying perspectives and expertise, they all were committed to ensuring Alaska’s future as an energy leader and working together we were able to put together a road map to guide future energy decisions, and I greatly enjoyed participating in these vigorous and insightful discussions.

     Because this bill sets out the framework for future planning, I insisted that it was important that this bill contain measurable goals to evaluate the progress in implementing this policy.  At first some of my colleagues did not want to see quantifiable goals included in this bill, but through discussions with the stakeholders group we were able to reach consensus on the need for measurable goals.

     The overall vision of this bill is for Alaska to remain a leader in oil and gas development and become a leader renewable energy development.  Not only is affordable reliable energy important for lowering the cost of living in Alaska, the energy industry is very important to our economy.  Expanding renewable energy development will create good paying jobs and make Alaska a more attractive place to do business.  I worked with my colleague Rep. Chris Tuck to add language to clarify that making these jobs available for Alaskans was an important part of this policy.

     I also appreciate the work of Energy Committee co-chairs Reps. Bryce Edgmon and Charisse Millett for the great process in drafting and considering this bill.  The bipartisan work did not end with the stakeholders, and all of us on the Energy Committee worked together to put politics aside and put together the best bill for Alaska. 

Representative Petersen inspecting energy projects with the House Energy Committee

     This week the Energy Committee began work on another important energy bill.  Making our electrical generation and transmission systems more efficient is an important part of making energy more affordable.  There are six utilities connected to what is known as the “Railbelt” grid that extends from the Kenai Peninsula all the way to Fairbanks.  There are three utilities in the Anchorage area alone.  Since these utilities share a grid and share the need for expanded generation capacity, electrical experts and consumer advocates have for years proposed greater cooperation between the utilities to prevent duplication of costs.

     Over the last couple years the utilities have been negotiating how to make this a reality.  There is a general agreement that they need to work together but there are legal and technical hurdles that have to be overcome.  The utilities have been negotiating about forming a corporation to pool their resources on projects to benefit all the utilities.

     The current proposal is to allow the six utilities the option of forming a joint corporation tentatively called the Greater Railbelt Electrical Transmission Corporation.  Each utility would be able to choose whether to join or not, and this would be a private sector corporation- not a government agency.  There are still many legal and technical issues to resolve, but greater cooperation between the electrical utilities is important to lower consumer prices.  I will continue to work for a solution that helps develop our electrical infrastructure while protecting consumers.

     There is one month left in the legislative session.  Please call or email me with your thoughts, ideas, and concerns.

     Sincerely,

P.S.  Time is running out to file for the PFD, the deadline is March 31 and you can go here and apply online now.

Representative Pete Petersen
District 19 - Muldoon & Northeast Anchorage
State Capitol, Room 422
Phone: 907-465-4939
Fax: 907-465-2418
Representative_Pete_Petersen@legis.state.ak.us