Gas line more than a pipe dream for MEA

MAT-SU — Jan. 1, 2015 is the magic date for Matanuska Electric Association.

That’s the day after the electricity cooperative’s agreement to purchase power from nearby Chugach Electric Association expires. It’s also the target date for MEA to have, at least at some level, its new gas-fired generation plant producing power for its member-owners.

To that end, MEA is part of a collaborative effort of the six Railbelt utilities that CEO Joe Griffiths calls “historic in every way.”

The Railbelt utilities have created Natural Gas Supply Co. to bid on space in two planned natural gas pipeline projects. By participating in the open season bidding, the utilities are banking on either or both the Alaska Pipeline Project and Denali Pipeline for electricity generation for 2015 and beyond.

“Come Jan. 1, 2015, MEA currently has no more power available for its membership,” Griffiths said, adding he’s optimistic that the collection of cooperatives will receive its share of Alaska’s natural gas if and when it becomes available.

Natural Gas Supply “is the only state entity in the open season, as far as we know,” he said, adding MEA and the other Railbelt utilities have a lot riding on securing that natural gas. “Oh, my goodness, it’s important, and it’s not just a potential North Slope line, it’s in the Cook Inlet as well.”

Griffiths is also a former CEO of Chugach Electric, and said MEA’s involvement in the Railbelt effort is historic.

“There’s strength in numbers, and if we aggregate our load we buy more gas and the price changes generally down when you do that,” he said. “It’s the only thing that makes sense. Any other approach was, I think, doomed to failure. The mess we’re in in the Cook Inlet and the Railbelt today is the result. We don’t have the luxury anymore of being free spirits.”

The open season bidding for Alaska Pipeline Project ended July 30 and the Denali Pipeline open season runs through mid-October. A successful bid will mean MEA will have fuel available to power its new plant, which will be built on land the co-op owns at the Eklutna interchange on the Glenn Highway.

“We must have a fuel supply for our future electrical generation needs. At MEA’s average load on a peak day of about 150,000 kilowatts, the amount of fuel required to turn the generators to provide that power for a day is equal to 150,000 gallons of diesel fuel,” Griffiths said. “This is comparable to about 15 tanker truckloads of diesel fuel daily. That is a bunch of cubic feet of natural gas.”

With the Alaska Pipeline Project, at least 5 percent is required to be used for in-state needs, Griffiths said. Right now, that represents 100 percent of the needs of Railbelt utilities.

“Overall, it’s a small amount,” he said. “But it’s 100 percent of our need. If and when (the pipelines) ever happen, I’m 100 percent hopeful we’ll get some of it, and I don’t have any doubts that we will. Part of the AGIA requirements are that local needs have to be met.”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.