TransCanada plan on to Senate

MAT-SU — The two state Senate candidates from the Mat-Su Borough — Republican Linda Menard and Democrat Erick Cordero — are taking different stances on the issue of TransCanada Corp.’s license to build a gas pipeline from Alaska to Alberta, Canada.

The license was approved by the Alaska House of Representatives this week. The House’s decision came after a 24-16 vote Tuesday, and another vote Wednesday to reaffirm Tuesday’s action.

If approved by the state Senate, TransCanada, supported by Gov. Sarah Palin in conjunction with the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, will have to obtain federal permitting applications for the estimated $26 billion pipeline. The Senate has until Aug. 2 to vote on TransCanada’s license.

Menard, an AGIA proponent, and Cordero, who is calling for an all-Alaska gas line as a “real option” for energy, differ in their views of how North Slope gas should ultimately make it to market.

In a recent letter to legislators, Cordero urges them to consider an all-Alaska gas line to bring the state’s gas to market.

“We are an owner state, and we own these resources,” Cordero says in the letter.

Cordero said House approval was to be expected.

“I think that everyone knew that was going to happen,” he said.

Menard, however, said she thinks AGIA could see a good outcome for Alaskans.

“I’d certainly like to thank the local legislators who were supportive of them,” Menard said.

Menard added that TransCanada is a “first-rate” company well-suited to construct a pipeline of the magnitude it’s proposing.

“If you’re going to build something of that magnitude in the arctic and sub-arctic, you probably couldn’t find anybody you’d want to elevate more than TransCanada,” Menard said, adding that at some point you have to put your faith in the people to whom the contract is awarded.

Menard said she hopes the state Senate acts in a timely manner to decide on TransCanada’s license and doesn’t drag out the process any longer than necessary.

“I would hope they’ve had enough information,” she said. “No more delays.”

To Cordero, a main concern about the TransCanada license comes from what he’s hearing about the Canadian company’s timeline. In a July 16 interview on a Canadian news network. TransCanada CEO Hal Kvisle said his company will concentrate on two Canadian projects before starting construction in Alaska.

Kvisle said the Alaska project is “a long way off.”

“Only in the later part of the next decade would the Alaska pipeline be constructed,” Kvisle said during the interview.

That timeline, plus Cordero’s desire to see the pipeline kept in-state, is why he’s been urging the Legislature to think beyond AGIA, he said.

“I want to have things sooner than this guy says on TV,” Cordero said.

Responding, Menard said timelines and overruns are always a point of contention.

“It’s not a true science when this can be completed,” Menard said.

Both Menard and Cordero may get some satisfaction after the state House unanimously adopted a letter of intent requesting Gov. Sarah Palin aid other pipeline projects in the state. If Palin gets behind other projects, it could lead to both an international pipeline and an all-Alaska line.

This week, oil producers BP and ConocoPhillips said their own pipeline project, named Denali, will go forward no matter what the Legislature does. The companies have reportedly invested $40 million into field work related to a pipeline.

Regardless of what Conoco-Phillips and BP do, it’s up to the Alaska Senate to decide whether or not the TransCanada license should be fully approved and move forward.

For Cordero, he hopes his letter gets legislators thinking.

“My letter was just to encourage them to truly look into the alternative,” Cordero said.

Menard said she thinks the Legislature is on the right track. She’s hoping for a quick, educated decision from the Senate so the project can move forward.

“I truly believe AGIA is the way to go,” Menard said.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiers- man.com or 352-2252.