MEA sends electric transformers to help restore power in storm-damaged Kipnuk

Matanuska Electric Association has shipped 70 electrical transformers to Kipnuk, the storm-battered community heavily damaged by storms. The equipment will help get electric power restored in the village, an urgent need as winter approaches.

Kupnuk is about 700 miles west of Anchorage and 40 miles inland by river from the Bering Sea.

"Thanks to quick coordination between MEA crews and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) the transformers were transported to a C-130 aircraft for delivery to the community, where they'll play a key role in restoring power and rebuilding essential services,” MEA said in a statement.

“Transformers have been in short supply nationwide since the pandemic, but MEA was fortunate to have enough inventory on hand to support this urgent request. We're proud to do our part to help bring power and hope back to Kipnuk," MEA said.

Villages across the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta were damaged in the aftermath of Typhoon Halong, but Kipnuk appears to have been the worst hit with almost all of its houses damaged, many off their foundations by floodwaters.

Getting electric power restored has been challenging because if the type of equipment used in Kipnuk. “Kipnuk had pole mounted transformers, which are not something Lowes, Home Depot, or even commercial electrical warehouses keep in stock,” said Shannon McCarthy, spokesperson for the state transportation department.

“The normal process of purchasing thorough Alaska suppliers was actually impossible. Katherine Keith, the department’s deputy commissioner, reached out to the Alaska Power Association so they could ask utility company members to see if they had any to spare,” McCarthy said in an e-mail.

“They put out a call and it turns out MEA had them available, and they are put on their way to Kipnuk by way of a charter with Lynden Air Cargo. Electrical technicians doing the work are with Brice Construction,” a subsidiary of Calista Corp., the Alaska Native regional corporation for the Yukon-Kuskokwim region, she said.

Kipnuk has a population of about 700, mostly Yup’ik. With housing heavily damaged most residents were evacuated to Bethel, the regional hub community, and Anchorage.

Many houses in the community are a total loss and rebuilding will be a major undertaking that may be delayed until next summer because only limited amounts of materials can be moved by air this winter. Most freight delivery comes by barge, which operate only in the summer.

Kipnuk residents and others in the region with damaged homes are eligible for $21,250 to pay emergency home repairs and $21,500 for other needs, according to the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

In addition, newly-approved federal disaster assistance funds could provide an additional $42,500 for home repairs and $42,000 for other needs.

However, that will likely fall more of the cost of total home replacements, so additional state and federal funds to rebuild housing will likely be needed.