May 15, 2007

By Russell Stigall

Frontiersman

ROBERT DeBERRY/Frontiersman Daniel Dryden speaks to MEA board members in front of a packed room at the board’s monthly meeting Monday afternoon following the rally. Dryden said wants the board to act responsibly and make decisions for power options based on current technology and renewable energy not “antiquated and archaic” methods.

PALMER - The weather played well for proponents of wind power at Monday afternoon's Renewable Energy Parade.

More than 60 ratepayers and concerned citizens braved blustery weather to march in opposition to Matanuska Electric Association's proposed coal-fired electric generator. Many marchers later spoke at the MEA board of directors meeting held nearby in the co-op building.

MEA board member Lois Lester said the several dozen marchers were indicative of a larger movement in the community.

“These people are just a representation of all the people out there who feel the same way,” Lester said.

Lester said she agreed with the marcher's request to slow the project down and reconsider the coal plan.

After the rally, during public comment time at the monthly MEA board meeting, former board member Mike Janecek said MEA's member-owners are afraid and angry at the co-op's plans to burn coal for power.

Janecek asked the board to follow the money and find who might get kickbacks and graft from the proposed multimillion dollar project, which includes participation from MEA, Usibelli Coal Mine and the Alaska Railroad.

“We'll remember those of you who voted to stink up our Valley, that will be your legacy,” said Janecek, whose microphone was turned off before he could finish his comments.

Pete Houston, president of MEA Ratepayers Alliance, a group of citizens opposed to the coal plant, said he disagrees with MEA's decision to cut itself loose from its power-purchasing contract with Chugach Electric Association. MEA has told Chugach that it will not renew its contract when it expires in late 2014.

“I do not see where there is a benefit to ratepayers to be independent,” Houston said. “[MEA] should work cooperatively with the rest of the Railbelt.”

Houston also called into question MEA's cost estimates for building and operating its proposed coal-fired generator.

“Like several other projects in Alaska, your estimates seem seriously low,” Houston said.

With pro bono help from Mark A. Foster and Associates Utility Consulting, Houston said ratepayers could see their utility bills double.

Katie Wieliczkiewicz, a Wasilla High School junior who writes a monthly column for the Frontiersman, spoke as a Valley youth. She said that future generations may not stick around the Valley to see the damage inflicted by MEA's coal plant emissions.

“I'm still a teenager. I represent the future, and the future is worried,” Wieliczkiewicz said. Wieliczkiewicz, who studies government in school, gave a warning to MEA's elected board members.

“Without consent of the governed, there will likely not be a governor,” Wieliczkiewicz said.

John W. Cross, MEA member-owner said he was upset with MEA's lack of public input on the process.

“You're deciding where the thing will go before knowing if the members are behind it,” Cross said.

Mike Miller said he would pay more for his electricity to keep coal-plant emissions out of the Valley.

“I will gladly pay a premium to make sure the standard of living stays the same,” Miller said.

MEA board member Larry DeVilbiss said the marchers' comments were worth looking over. DeVilbiss said he would like MEA to find out how different power-production

scenarios would effect

member-owners' electric rates. How would coal stack up against natural gas or other alternatives.

DeVilbiss also said he would also like to see hard numbers on a scaled down Susitna dam hydroelectric project that could be an alternative to what MEA has planned.

Several local and statewide activist groups lined up on Industrial Way to march in front of MEA's Palmer headquarters before the meeting. Utility Watch, MEA Ratepayers Alliance, Alaska Center for the Environment, Friends of Mat-Su, Chuitna No Coal Coalition, South Palmer Community Organization and Resurrection Bay Conservation Alliance all had a presence.

The parade was also attended by citizens of various ages.

Emery Jadack, a resident of Beluga, said he attended the parade to show solidarity with Valley groups also fighting coal projects.

Jadack held a sign that read “Retirees for Options.” Jadack lives near the proposed Beluga coal fields. A fully developed Beluga would create a 30-square-mile coal mine in the watershed of the Chuitna River, across Cook Inlet from Anchorage.

27-year-old Susan Ely lives in Eagle River. She is not an MEA member because the electric bill is in her roommate's name.

Ely said the co-op's future power-generation plan, which extends at least to 2043, could affect her into her 60s.

“I could be a grandmother before I have another chance to vote on what kind of power generation we have,” Ely said.

Kathy Wells, of responsible development advocacy group Friends of Mat-Su, said she was impressed at the turnout, especially considering it was a work day for most people.

Jim Chesbro carried a sign that read “Farmers against Mercury.” Chesbro lived on a dairy farm in New York. He said he saw first-hand the effect emissions from coal-fired generators had on the lakes of that region.

“You can't eat the fish from there anymore,” Chesbro said.

Janecek also spoke to the marchers outside before the meeting.

He pointed out the many children and young adults in the parade dressed in costumes, handing out wind-powered pinwheels and riding in wagons pulled by parents. Janecek told the marchers to keep the children in mind when fighting against coal power in the Valley.

“It is these young people who will receive the debt and dirty energy,” Janecek said.

Contact Russell Stigall at

352-2267 or russell.stigall@ frontiersman.com