Chugach Electric Association led a long-anticipated set of “railbelt” grid electrical reliability standards with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska on behalf of itself and other utilities on the grid. The standards are technical and specify how power can be safely and efficiently shared among the utilities.

From Northrim Bank’s latest survey

More statewide economic data – 2017 small gains over 2016

Small dip in Anchorage home sales; increase in Fairbanks

Multiple Listing Service data shows 2,799 single-family homes sold in Anchorage in 2017, down 5 percent from 2,946 in 2016. The average sales price was $364,967, or $1,200 lower than the 2016 average. In Fairbanks, there were 1,155 sales of homes and condominiums in 2017, up 1.5 percent from 2016. The average sales price (combining single-family homes and condominiums) was $230,200, a 0.9 percent increase over the 2016 average. In Southeast Alaska home and condo sales totaled 539 in 2017 with the average sales price, combining homes and condos, rising 1.6 percent to $354,554.

Building permits issued statewide rose slightly in 2017

Building permits issued statewide rose slightly in 2017, according to U.S. census data. There were 1,553 residential building permits for one-to- ve unit households issued last year compared with 1,503 in 2016, an increase of 3.3 percent. About three-fourths of these units are single-family with the remainder being multifamily. The data is representative but incomplete since many smaller communities in the state do not require building permits.

Income shows small gains

Alaska per-capita income in third quarter 2017 averaged $55,528, compared with the U.S. per-capita income average of $50,463 at the same point in time. Total Alaska income in 2017 was $41.5 billion, up $64 million from 2016. The 2016 income was $331 million below 2015, however, due mainly to job losses in oil and gas and professional and business services. The increase in 2017 income began in the second quarter and increased during the year, hitting an annualized average of 0.8 percent in the third quarter. The increase was due partly to wage increases in certain industries and increases in government transfer payments, Northrim said in its report.

Inflation remains at modest levels

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Alaska in ation at 0.5 percent in 2017, compared with 0.5 percent and 0.4 percent in 2015 and 2016. However, energy prices rose 12.1 percent in 2017. Without the run-up in energy, Alaska would have experienced negative in ation in 2017, down 0.6 percent. “Stable prices helped maintain consumer spending power during this period of slower income growth,” Northrim reported in its economic survey.

ISER’s Guettabi: Where will growth in economy come from?

ISER economist Mouhcine Guettabi laid out the current trend of slowing statewide job losses at the Northrim Bank economics presentations but also asked this question: If the recession is bottoming, what will rekindle growth in employment? There’s not much out there that could really move the needle. It is assumed that North Slope oil activity will see a modest uptick but not enough to return to 2015 levels. The 2018 tourist season looks good but this won’t be enough to really move the needle. Fisheries are stable but 2018 looks to be somewhat down due to a lower salmon harvest as well as quota for cod and halibut.