No coal for MEA this season

Is this the same MEA?

Matanuska Electric Association General Manager Wayne Carmony is recommending the cooperative’s board of directors shelve a plan for a 100-megawatt coal-fired power plant for at least five years. This comes following an appeal to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to create a statewide electric co-op among the Southcentral area’s various providers. Next MEA will be hopping on to support Governor Palin’s $800,000 Railbelt energy study.

Is this the same MEA that seemed tuned out to its member-owners when it first announced plans to build a pair of 100-megawatt plants, one gas-fired and the other coal? Is this the same MEA that had to take a beating from the public to release its Integrated Resource Plan? Is this the same MEA that developed a power generation plan without asking its member-owners if they wanted such a plan?

Apparently not. Carmony’s recommendation, outlined in a memorandum sent to board members on Friday, is very lucid, to the point and makes sense (a complete transcript of the memo can be found on our Web site, www.Frontiersman.com). Mat-Su Borough regulations on building power generation, coupled with a global trend that shows the costs of building coal plants are escalating, means a relatively small generation plant like MEA’s 100-megawatt facility isn’t a good investment now.

More importantly, it shows MEA — at least at some level — can see the forest for the trees and is willing to admit the climate isn’t right. While it will take more than a memorandum and an appeal to the RCA to restore a badly bruised and battered public trust, we are encouraged by MEA’s approach to its power solutions since the Borough enacted its ordinance.

For too long debate among MEA, the Borough and some in the community have adopted an us-against-them approach to dealing with each other. It’s counterproductive, exhausting and, worst of all, accomplishes little in the long run.

“We recognize that things change,” said Lorali Carter, MEA’s manager of government and corporate communications. “What we hope our membership and the Borough will recognize is we’re not living in a vacuum. We are very thoughtfully proceeding with our power supply plans.”

Most importantly, we hope any potential alternatives to the 100-megawatt coal plant will be presented in a public-friendly fashion. Make a decision after member-owners have had a fair opportunity to mull the options and give feedback.

Now is Matanuska Electric Association’s opportunity to show us this isn’t the same MEA.