Utilities yet to assess fire damage

Southcentral electric utility managers have yet to be able to get surface access to Kenai Peninsula transmission lines damaged in the big Swan Lake wildfire. Preliminary surveys to date have been by air, so a realistic damage assessment has not been made. Meanwhile, the continued shutdown of the line that transmits Bradley Lake hydro power north is costing regional utilities because they use more natural gas to replace inexpensive hydro. Utilities briefed the Alaska Energy Authority last week on the situation. Chugach Electric Assoc. is paying an extra $30,000 to $50,000 a day and Matanuska Electric is paying $12,000 a day more. Golden Valley Electric’s costs are up $50,000 a day but its situation is more complicated by its Healy 1 coal plant, a source of inexpensive power, being temporarily down for maintenance.

Repair of the transmission line could take six months to a year, and result in temporary higher rates for electricity as costs are recouped. The damaged line is owned by Homer Electric and it is still unclear how much of the repair will be paid by HEA’s insurance and how much will be paid by the federal government (the fire was on federal land in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge).

Meanwhile, the regional utilities are talking about whether replacement of the line should be a with a higher system that has been long discussed, and which would allow for maximum efficient use of Bradley Lake hydro. Bradley Lake is also being expanded, which puts the issue into sharper focus. The question is how the larger-capacity transmission line would be funded.

Utility, transportation and warehouse jobs in Alaska appear stable, up 0.4 percent in August year-over-year, state labor economists say.