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Lancaster Proposes Intertie Projects
HB 175 and 176 Would Use Railbelt Energy Fund to Finance Work

(JUNEAU) -The state would draw on the Railbelt Energy Fund to finance electrical projects in the Interior, Southeast and Prince William Sound areas under a pair of bills introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Rep. Ken Lancaster (R-Soldotna) said he introduced House Bills 175 and 176 to bring cheaper, more reliable and cleaner energy to residents of the Railbelt and Southeast Alaska, while reducing demands on the Power Cost Equalization fund that subsidizes power for rural Alaskans off the state's central power grid.

"I've been working with the power industries for the past 25 years on various utility boards around the state, and knew the money was available," said Lancaster. "I just thought it was time to build these projects that have been planned for the past 15 years to bring power to the people of Alaska."

The Railbelt Energy Fund was established in 1986 with appropriations of about $350 million, and while much of that has gone to fund other electrical intertie projects around the state, enough principle and interest remains to fund most, of not all, of the $85.9 million in projects proposed in the bills, he said.

HB 176 would appropriate about $19 million to connect the Southeast village of Kake with Petersburg through the Four-Dam Pool hydroelectric grid. HB 175 would provide $12 million to the Power Creek hydroelectric project in Cordova, $12.5 to build on to existing generating facilities in Glennallen, $8.4 million to build an 83-mile transmission line between Tok and Chistochina, $4.8 million to lay undersea cable connecting Homer with other Kachemak Bay communities, and $17.2 million to upgrade the southernmost 26 miles of electric lines between Anchorage and Fairbanks.

"This money was set aside specifically for power generation and transmission projects," said Lancaster. "The need is still there, the money is still there, and it's high time we used it to provide Alaskans with the power they need and want."

The bill has been referred to the House Finance and Labor and Commerce committees.

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Attachments:

• Sponsor Statements for HB 175
• Sponsor Statements for HB 176
• Print Friendly Version
  requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - 1 page(s) - 92 K

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