Carmony appointed to energy task force

PALMER -- At his speaking engagement before the Palmer Chamber Aug. 27, Gov. Frank Murkowski announced the appointment of Wayne Carmony to a new task force.

Carmony, general manager of Matanuska Electric Association, will serve as one of two governor-appointed members of the nine-member Energy Policy Task Force.

The task force was created as a result of House Concurrent Resolution 21, sponsored by Rep. John Harris, R-Valdez, which passed the Legislature in May. It's tasked with submitting a long-term energy plan for utilities along the Alaska Railbelt to the Legislature by the end of this year, and for rural utilities across the state by March 31, 2004. The resolution includes a termination date for the group of April 15, 2004.

"Alaska's economic well-being depends on a reliable, sustainable and affordable system of power generation, transmission and distribution, and we face many important decisions on how government can work with the public and private industry toward this goal," Murkowski told those present at the Palmer Chamber of Commerce meeting. "With their experience in providing power to the people through electric cooperatives, Wayne Carmony and Rick Eckert bring a critical perspective the task force will rely on as it helps guide the state in providing for the state's energy needs today and into the future."

Carmony, according to information provided by MEA and the governor's office, has been the general manager of the association since 1994, the longest-serving manager of any major electric utility in Railbelt Alaska. He's worked in the utility industry for more than 30 years, starting out as an engineer designing power lines. Before beginning his work at MEA, Carmony served as general manager of Grayson Rural Electric Cooperative in Grayson, Ky. Prior to that, he worked as a system engineering manager for East Kentucky Power Cooperative in Winchester.

Carmony, in a press release issued by MEA, said he hopes to bring a strong pro-consumer focus to the work of the task force.

"I believe the electric utility industry in Alaska must have a disciplined focus on two goals: Providing electric service to those Alaskans who don't have it, and lowering the costs for those who do," Carmony said. "MEA has cut rates 15 times since 1996, reductions that will save a typical MEA residential customer about $140 this year alone. But we could achieve even more if utilities and the state worked together to pool and centrally dispatch Alaska's generation resources, an approach the task force has been asked to consider."

Carmony and Eckert, interim general manager of Homer Electric Association, will serve on the task force with seven other appointees. Mike Barry, the Alaska Energy Authority director, and Tom Boutin, the deputy commissioner of the treasury division of the Department of Revenue will serve as representatives from the state. House Speaker Pete Kott appointed two members, H.A. "Red" Boucher, of Alaska Wireless Technology, and Dave Carlson, Southeast Conference Intertie Coordinator. Steven Haagenson, president and chief executive officer of Golden Valley Electric Association and Robert A. Wilkinson, CEO of Copper Valley Electric Association, were both appointed by Senate President Gene Therriault. One seat to be appointed by Therriault remained vacant last week.