Let’s energize a new plan for Alaska

Following last week’s approval of TransCanada’s license to build a 1,700-mile natural gas pipeline to tap into Alaska’s vast reserves, state lawmakers need to have enough left in the tank to debate energy relief.

They are meeting in special session to debate Gov. Sarah Palin’s energy relief plan that would pay residents eligible for PFD payouts $1,200 to help offset the rising costs of gasoline and home energy needs. There seems little debate that if the state has the financial wherewithal, helping Alaskans weather the storm of costs rising faster than incomes is a good idea.

Palin’s plan has merit, but lawmakers must also look to the future and how the state can help provide long-term incentives for residents to use energy more efficiently. Along with Palin’s one-time payout, we urge the Legislature to consider broadening its focus to bills like that proffered by Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, who wants to create an incentive program for homeowners. Under his plan, homeowners who qualify may be eligible to receive up to $10,000 in rebates from the state for making energy-saving home improvements.

It’s putting to practice today the old adage about teaching a man to fish. By encouraging long-lasting energy solutions for homeowners, those who take advantage of the program would realize energy savings that go far beyond a one-time, lump-sum payment, which we know is as likely to be used for a new entertainment system as a refill of the heating oil tank.

Expanding on Hoffman’s bill, the state could also similarly encourage energy providers like Matanuska Electric Association, Chugach Electric and Anchorage Municipal Light and Power.

Through tax incentives, power suppliers could be pushed toward generating more electricity through renewables and working to develop emerging technology like home power cells.

A recent MEA survey of its ratepayers indicated more than half of respondents like alternative energy options, most giving them the nod as long as they don’t have to foot much of a rate increase. Combining incentives with a modest pass-through of costs to consumers could mean some creative long-term solutions for energy needs in Alaska.

Rather than pencil-whip a cash transaction that will likely leave Alaskans rowing the same boat again next year, let’s use Palin’s relief plan as a springboard for undertaking aggressive and responsible energy reform for our state.

State Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, is urging his colleagues in the House and Senate to create an energy committee. It’s a good idea.

“We are not going to survive in Alaska if we don’t take control of our own destiny,” he told the Associated Press.

TransCanada’s license approval and consideration of Palin’s short-term relief plan are just the tip of our state’s energy iceberg. Unlike the Titanic, we know it’s there and have an opportunity to avoid disaster.