Utilities drop unified grid deal
Six utilities along the state’s “railbelt” electric grid – the system from Homer and Seward north to Fairbanks – failed to reach final agreement on a unified grid management system and have withdrawn an application to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to establish one. A jointly-owned transmission company was proposed as a way for utilities to finance upgrades to the grid, which until now has benefited largely from state grants. With that no longer an option the utilities have to find a way to fund upgrades themselves, but reaching agreement on how to do that has been difficult. One issue is that Chugach Electric Association, the largest of the state’s utilities, wants to finalize its purchase of Anchorage’s city-owned Municipal Light & Power before entering into a jointly-owned transmission company. Matanuska Electric Association said it also has problems with the final form of the transmission company proposal.