MEA, some board members show disdain for power-line concerns

Spectrum/Mike Janecek

It should be stated up front that I am not writing this article because I have some kind of ax to grind. I do have concern that our member-owned electric utility cooperative is out of touch with its membership and it's about time for some public discourse about MEA management and the majority of the board of directors.

Once again we find ourselves at odds with an arrogant, pushy electric utility that does not have an interest in any kind of public process concerning plans to establish an added high-voltage power line in our grid system. According to MEA statements, the line is to supply power to the new Valley Hospital now under construction near the intersection of the Parks and Glenn highways. And they need to do this project now because the hospital will be completed soon.

These two premises deserve some discussion and consideration by MEA membership, in particular those directly affected by these considerations. I find it hard to believe that we don't have enough power available on the south side of our grid to operate the new hospital, in that a substation is located just north of the hospital building site. I suggest that if we really need more power there that we bring power from the south, across the Eklutna flats. That would be energy directly from the supply and would provide another route from our grid back to the source.

It is reasonable to think that the new hospital, located where it is, will cause some growth of industry as well as residential construction, but I don't think that this growth is going to happen overnight or even the next night. Added energy is a real need in the future, there, and lots of other places in our borough.

Where MEA management chooses to establish this "cross the Valley" line also deserves some serious consideration as well. Picture in your mind a circleŠthis represents the electrical loop consisting of Chugiak/Eagle River, Eklutna, Butte, Palmer, Wasilla, Knik-Goose Bay Road, Beluga and then back to Anchorage (Chugach Electric).

This loop feature allows for energy to be delivered from either direction if a break should occur in the loop. Simply put, this allows for the fewest number of residents to suffer power outages when the loop does fail. MEA does open the loop occasionally, much to the consternation of the other utilities in South-central. If the loop is opened, it becomes a line and any break in the line then discontinues delivery to the load beyond the break. It seems only reasonable that operating the grid in some kind of loop provides for better service.

Add to your mental picture of the circle a line bisecting the circle. That is the power line that MEA has proposed. Bisecting the circle is a good thing, and essentially creates two loops instead of one. However their choice of where to put the line leaves one gasping for a breath of fresh air. Even the notion that they would drill into our carefully laid plans (potentially releasing methane gas) at Central Landfill pales in comparison to constructing a power line through Crevasse Moraine trails. The alternate plan that MEA now puts forward still crosses some of the trail area and puts a considerable power line in the back yards of residents who have been sucker punched by bad (or lack of ) planning.

I support building a line across the Valley, but I suggest that we do a careful study of what is needed and where; involve a public process that allows for the owners of the line and associated electric cooperative a democratic say in what eventually happens.

Maybe we choose to locate this power line in the Trunk Road upgrade or a new "cross the Valley" line loop to the west of the existing loop (Seldon Road through Meadow Lakes and back to Wasilla?) or maybe bury some of the line. We must be given the opportunity to study independently derived alternatives and associated costs.

Let me draw this together. MEA wants to build this new power line to a private hospital through either our only green space in the core area or in the back yard of longtime residents and through valuable, beautiful university land. We're not even sure that the hospital needs more power than they currently forecast. MEA seems OK with tearing up our existing landfill where it seems there is more methane gas than Evergreen ever hoped to find. I am sure I'm not telling you anything new when I mention that landfills are very expensive these days.

Let us not forget that because of MEA's actions, the Mat-Su Borough is spending a considerable number of your precious tax dollars in a courtroom in an effort to protect the people's right to be heard. The Mat-Su Borough Assembly should be thanked for defending borough residents from a hostile MEA management.

Please take a serious look at the upcoming MEA election of two board directors. The board of directors should represent the member-owners and act as the liaison between members and management. Those attending the January MEA regular meeting know that only Scott Daugharty and Lois Lester spoke up for you. The other board directors sing the same song as management. In fact, some board directors denigrate your concerns along with management's disdain. Stay tuned.

Michael Janecek, a Meadow Lakes resident, is a former member of the MEA board