AETP Newsletter #3 (April 2, 2025)
New From AETP
Chugach Electric Launches Community Solar Program, Others May Soon Follow
Chugach Electric Association (CEA) recently announced it will open the application period for its community solar project on April 1, with the project coming online in July. CEA also announced that the per panel subscription rate will be considerably lower than the one announced last year, falling from $267 a year to $110. Continue reading here
GVEA Launches On-Bill Financing Pilot Program
At the beginning of March, GVEA announced the opening of its long-awaited on-bill financing program. The Responsible Energy Decisions Using Cost-Effective Efficiencies (REDUCE) Program offers members low-interest loans to make energy saving upgrades to their homes…Continue reading here
Coverage of Railbelt cooperative board elections is below
Coming soon to AETP:
–An examination of how the current application of the PCE penalizes communities for utilizing recovered heat and excess renewable power for heating.
–A new transparency scorecard looking at the availability of information on utility websites, and an update of the original scorecard on board meeting access.
Energy News:
HEA proposes rules for power curtailment
Homer Electric Association submitted to the RCA a plan for curtailment of service if it is unable to meet the demand for power. The RCA required the filing (TA475-32) as a condition of its approval of HEA’s extension of its contract for natural gas with ENSTAR, due to the contract’s interruptible nature (meaning that ENSTAR is not guaranteeing the delivery of agreed-upon minimums). Public comments to the RCA on HEA’s proposal are due by April 3.
This is the first formal curtailment plan submitted to the RCA. GVEA announced its own plan in January, but this is not an official part of its tariff. The RCA recently opened an Informational Docket on utility curtailment plans (see next item).
RCA opens Informational Docket on utility curtailment plans
On March 14, the RCA issued an order opening an informational docket (I-25-001) on utility plans to curtail service if they are unable to meet consumer demand. This is a direct response to concerns about anticipated shortfalls of Cook Inlet natural gas (which currently fuels about 75% of Railbelt power generation). The RCA has been hearing Railbelt utilities’ reports on their curtailment plans for the past 15 months. The Regulatory Affairs & Public Advocacy Section of the Attorney General’s office (RAPA) had asked the RCA to draft regulations governing curtailment plans last December, but the Commissioners opted to collect more information first.
Currently, the public comment period runs through April 25. However, as of April 1, the docket had not been noticed on the RCA’s page for public comment opportunities. A RCA spokesperson says that the Commissioners will consider extending the comment period at their April 9 public meeting.
CEA and MEA begin operation as a single load balancing area
This week CEA and MEA informed the RCA that they had completed their transition to a single load balancing area on March 18, the final step in a process that had begun in 2017. This means that they now have a unified dispatch system that uses the least expensive generation available to meet demand across both their systems, regardless of who generates the power. The two utilities have been coordinating the dispatch of power for several years, but this marks the final stage in the process. According to the filing, since 2021 these efforts have saved the two utilities over $18 million in fuel and reduced operation and maintenance costs.
Status of RCA Chair remains unsettled
There continues to be a lack of clarity regarding the status of RCA Chair John Espindola. Espindola’s term expired over four weeks ago, on March 1. There has been no announcement of Espindola’s reappointment to his seat. At the same time, the position has not been listed as open on the Boards and Commission’s section of the governor’s website. Continue reading here
Alaskans travel to Washington D.C. to discuss the status of federal funding for energy projects with congressional delegation
The Village of Solomon received a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2023 to install solar arrays to reduce fuel costs and boost energy security. For more see this story from Alaska’s News Source
Wind energy company moves ahead with Alaska projects despite Trump’s move to block industry
Legislative News:
Two new electric-sector bills recently were introduced into the Legislature.
HB 153/SB 149 (introduced on March 24).
This bill establishes a Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for Railbelt utilities. The RPS would require that 40% of power sold by each utility come from renewable sources by 2030 and 55% by 2035. Fines for non-compliance would be used to help cooperative members install distributed energy systems, like solar panels, or by the utility to develop large-scale renewable projects. Utilities would also be able to buy renewable energy credits (RECs) from utilities serving PCE-eligible communities.
The Alaska Energy Blog provided this analysis of the new RPS’s potential impact.
General information about RPS and how they work can be found in this AETP Explainer. RPS bills have been introduced in each of the last two legislative sessions–more on the bills introduced last session can be found here.
The House Energy Committee will hear invited testimony on April 1 and 3. The Senate version has been referred to the Labor & Commerce Committee.
HB 164/SB 150 (introduced on March 28).
This bill sets new requirements for net-metering programs (which govern how utilities reimburse customers with home generation equipment like solar panels). It eliminates caps on program size and requires that net-metering participants be paid the full retail rate for the power they sell back to the utility, even if it exceeds their own monthly usage (surpluses would be applied to subsequent months’ power use--this is sometimes called “annual net-metering”). Under current net-metering rules, surplus production in a month is reimbursed at a utility’s “avoided cost,” which is much lower than the retail rate.
The bill also creates (but does not fund) a “reimbursement fund” to compensate utilities for lost revenue caused by net-metering programs.
The RCA is currently reviewing its net-metering regulations in Docket R-24-003–if passed, this bill would supersede many existing regulations.
The bill’s initial referrals are to the House Energy Committee and the Senate Labor & Commerce Committee.
Older bills—SB 32 and SB 91
There have still been no hearings scheduled for SB 32 (which would allow Railbelt cooperatives to open renewable generation facilities under 15 mW without RCA approval) or SB 91 (which revises some of the rules for leasing state land to renewable energy projects). Both have been referred to the Senate Resources Committee.
Cooperative Elections:
Additional information on elections and voting can be found on the AETP Election page
Homer Electric Association:
Voting in the HEA election opened on March 28 and runs through its Annual meeting on May 1. Voting can be done online, by mail, or in person (please note that this year HEA members wishing to vote by mail need to request a ballot). Members will elect one director in each of HEA’s three districts. Information on voting is available at the HEA 2025 Election website.
So far AETP has received responses to its candidate questionnaire from the following HEA candidates (clink link to read their responses):
Matanuska Electric Association:
Voting opens April 3 in the MEA board election. Members will elect one At-Large director and a director for the Matanuska District. Two of the three candidates in the At-Large race have withdrawn, leaving incumbent Arthur Keyes as the sole candidate (although the other candidates’ names will still appear on the ballot, due to their late withdrawal). Members can vote by mail, online, or in person at MEA’s Annual Meeting on April 29. More information is available on the MEA 2025 Election page.
So far AETP has received a response to its questionnaire from the following candidate:
Mark Masteller–Matanuska District
Chugach Electric Association:
Voting will open on April 30 and run through the CEA Annual Meeting on May 30. Members will elect one director. Three candidates remain in the race: Katherine Jernstrom, Bernie Smith, and Aaric St Michel. AETP is sending these candidates its questionnaire and will publish responses as they are received. More information will be available on the CEA 2025 Election and Annual Meeting page.
Golden Valley Electric Association:
The dates for GVEA’s election have not yet been announced, but voting will begin after the GVEA Annual Meeting on May 1 and run through early June. Members will elect a director in District 6. Because there was only one candidate in District 5, at its March meeting the GVEA Board exercised its right to cancel that district’s election and name the candidate, Bradley Swoope, to the seat, effective in June. AETP will send the District 6 candidates its questionnaire in the coming weeks.
Other Cooperative News:
Chugach Electric Association (CEA)
Next board meeting—April 23 at 4 p.m.
Board website: https://www.chugachelectric.com/your-cooperative/board-of-directors
Recent RCA filings:
On March 21, CEA filed a Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) with the RCA. Rates will drop slightly for CEA customers starting April 1–a decline of 0.1% for South District members and 2.6% for North District members. The changes largely reflect adjustments to the BRU Contributed Capital surcharge/rebate balancing funds.
Golden Valley Electric Association:
Next board meeting--April 22, 2025
Board website: https://www.gvea.com/about-us/board-of-directors/
Recent News:
At its March meeting, the GVEA Board voted to discontinue its SNAP program. The program, which raised voluntary contributions from members and distributed them to those with home solar arrays, was introduced in 2005. It was supplemented in 2010 with the SNAP+ program, which is a conventional net-metering program. GVEA will stop collecting voluntary donations for SNAP and, once the final funds are disbursed, end the program. SNAP participants will have the option to join the SNAP+ program.
Recent RCA Filings:
GVEA filed a Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) increase of 4.42% on February 28 for the March-May quarter. The average bill impact (based on 600 kilowatt hours a month) will be $3.34. GVEA attributed the increase to a greater reliance on oil-based generation and a decreased reliance on coal-fired generation.
On April 1, GVEA filed a Simplified Rate Filing (SRF) with the RCA requesting a 5% increase in rates, effective June 1 (this is the line on the bill listed as “Utility charge”). The increase reflects a rise in operating costs that has not been matched by an increase in revenues. SRFs allow cooperatives to adjust their revenues to match costs. The actual deficit is over 5%, but Alaskan SRF rules limit total increases through this mechanism to 8% a year, and GVEA had a 3% SRF increase go into effect on January 1. GVEA did not include an estimate of average bill impact, but based on current rates, a member using 600 kWh a month would likely see a monthly increase of about $5.00.
Homer Electric Association (HEA):
Next Board meeting: April 8 at 12 p.m.
Board website: https://www.homerelectric.com/my-cooperative/board-of-directors/
Recent RCA filings:
On March 28, HEA filed a Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) increase of 13.1% for the quarter starting April 1. The increase is partly to compensate for previous overbilling of Tesoro (the proceeds from HEA’s special contract with Tesoro are used to offset its fuel costs), and partly because HEA will have less access to Bradley Lake power in the coming quarter. Because COPA is only one element that makes up member bills, the overall impact of the COPA increase will be about $5.75 a month.
Matanuska Electric Association (MEA):
Next board meeting: April 14, 2025 at 4 p.m.
Board website: https://www.mea.coop/co-op-benefits/board-of-directors
Recent Filings:
On March 28, MEA filed a Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) increase of 6.9% with the RCA, effective April 1. The increase reflects rising fuel costs. MEA estimates the impact on the average member’s monthly bill to be $3.38.
Interested in contributing to AETP?
There are a variety of ways you can help in our coverage of Alaska’s energy sector. You can provide a summary of a utility board meeting or write an opinion piece on an issue that is important to you. AETP’s editor will work with anyone interested in writing a new story as a citizen journalist. If you are interested in contributing to AETP or just finding out more, contact Brian Kassof at brian@akpirg.org. More information about contributing to AETP, including templates for board meetings, see our Toolkit page.