Energy corp. has MEA support

WASILLA — There’s a lot of talk lately in energy generation circles about the state’s move to create a cooperative for generation and transmission of power.

Legislation is pending in both the state Senate and House of Representatives to create what’s called the Greater Railbelt Energy and Transmission Corp. The corporation would be semi-state-owned, and, in theory at least, could borrow money to build and maintain big transmission lines and power plants.

So far, Matanuska Electric Association, Chugach Electric Association and the Seward Electric Association have signed on, said MEA spokeswoman Lorali Carter.

“MEA has said for years that we believed some sort of unified system would be appropriate along the Railbelt,” she said.

That support for a unified system envisioned something slightly different than what’s on the table now. The co-op previously put together a plan to do essentially the same thing, but make the organization in charge of generation and transmission an autonomous entity. That plan would have left all of the regional co-ops in charge of taking power from the big transmission and running it through smaller lines to deliver and sell to customers.

But even if it’s not what MEA had sought in the past, Carter said, the co-op is on board.

“We feel like it is what is on the table today and we’re looking to see if we can actually get something going this session,” Carter said.

The cooperation with Chugach also marks a shift. In the past, under previous boards of directors, MEA has taken more of an adversarial stance with Chugach, which currently sells MEA the bulk of the electricity it distributes.

“We are more aligned with Chugach Electric and Seward Electric,” Carter said. “There’s still time to see if changes can be made to bring Homer into the equation as well as Golden Valley.”

That relationship between Chugach and MEA is set to expire and MEA is working to build its own power plant. Which, of course, begs the question — if this state entity is going to be in the power-plant business, what does that do to MEA’s plans?

Carter’s answer? Nothing. Yet.

“We cannot put our generation plans on hold,” she said. “You can look at history and see how these plans have not come to fruition in the past.”

It’s still much too early even to talk about specifics, about actual projects the corporation might take on.

The only facilities mentioned by name in the legislation on hand are the Bradley Lake hydroelectric plant and the Alaska Intertie — the large lines that connect Fairbanks to Southcentral. Both are mentioned only as facilities that would be transferred to the new corporation once it’s created.

So, really, what the legislation means for MEA is a lot of work in the upcoming legislative session, hammering out specifics and smoothing out rough spots.

“I don’t think anyone is 100 percent comfortable with it,” Carter said. But, at least as far as MEA is concerned, “We think it’s a great and we’ll be very busy this session.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.