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ENERGY OPINION STORIES
web-posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008
As governor of Alaska, I am thankful to the employees of Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. for all they did to restore hydroelectric power to Juneau. Their crews worked around the clock, seven days a week to make that happen. I and all the citizens of Juneau appreciate their dedication and commitment in reconstructing the damaged lines and towers in record time.
web-posted Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Juneau's energy crisis is over, at least as far as consuming diesel for electricity is concerned. We should applaud the effort by Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. to rebuild the Snettisham towers well ahead of the schedule anticipated immediately after the massive avalanches brought them down. As we begin to return to our old ways, let's not forget what we learned about energy conservation.
web-posted Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Murray Walsh's cartoonesque depiction, in his June 3 My Turn, of the mighty Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. coming to the aid of the "gentle people" of Juneau vs. the evil Albert Petrarca smacks of obsequiousness and of expert lobbying.
web-posted Thursday, June 5, 2008
I wanted to thank Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. for their hard work in getting the transmission towers up so much earlier than expected.
web-posted Tuesday, June 3, 2008
I am writing in response to the article, "City expands aid for electric customers," dated May 23.
web-posted Tuesday, June 3, 2008
The word on the street in Juneau these days is conservation. We're all trying our best to use as little electricity as possible, mostly because we don't want to pay for it. All aspects of our lives are affected, especially fashion.
web-posted Tuesday, June 3, 2008
I enjoyed reading Richard Gard's My Turn in Friday's Juneau Empire, praising Alaska Electric Light & Power for their efforts. This is the kind of polite and positive public discourse that we should all encourage.
web-posted Sunday, June 1, 2008
It's too soon to say Juneau's energy crisis is over, but Alaska Electric Light & Power Co.'s announcement late last week that transmission line repair work will be completed in a matter of days came as welcome news.
web-posted Friday, May 30, 2008
Nobody wants to pay a huge electric bill, even if it is for only a few months. Therefore, I was not surprised to see a spate of letters in which many writers blame Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. for the destruction of the transmission line between Snettisham and Juneau.
web-posted Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Fight back or surrender to tyranny? As Juneau faces this unwanted but now unavoidable choice, the path taken will undoubtedly define our character and direction for years to come.
web-posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008
The Juneau I was raised in had more power outages and proportionately much higher power rates. This "disaster" has brought it all back and made me realize that due to Alaska Electric Light & Power Co., we now have power that is more reliable and cheaper by far than "the good old days."
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ENERGY OPINION STORIES
web-posted Tuesday, May 27, 2008
I respectfully ask for the attention of our Juneau Assembly members. I am extremely concerned about the current energy crisis and economic impacts that we are facing in Juneau.
web-posted Friday, May 23, 2008
In the first hours after the April 16 avalanches severed Juneau's connection to the Snettisham hydroelectric project, Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. estimated we would need to burn up to 100,000 gallons of diesel each day to meet the community's electrical demand. We estimated electrical rates would be five to six times the normal rate for the first month of the outage to pay for all that diesel.
web-posted Friday, May 23, 2008
Gov. Sarah Palin suggests issuing debit cards to Alaskans to help defray high energy costs. While I have no reason to doubt her sincerity, the effort would be just as shortsighted and misguided as the effort of Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, to present all Alaska Permanent Fund recipients a $500 energy bonus.
web-posted Thursday, May 22, 2008
No matter what Gov. Palin and her bureaucrats call it, Juneau is facing an economic disaster.
web-posted Thursday, May 22, 2008
Here is yet another letter regarding Juneau's favorite subject - Alaska Electric Light & Power Co.
web-posted Wednesday, May 21, 2008
There was no small measure of irony in the timing of my last column (Please remember to leave the lights on). As my mini-manifesto on the economy of electric heat versus oil was rolling off the presses, snow was rolling off of the cliffs above Juneau's hydroelectric power lines, heralding a dramatic change in the way all Juneau residents view our usage of electricity.
web-posted Wednesday, May 21, 2008
We knew it was going to be an interesting summer when the people of Juneau rushed the first cruise ship of the season, bringing a very long extension cord to divert electricity from the ship's generator into the city's power grid. That was the first night in weeks that the city turned on its streetlights.
web-posted Sunday, May 18, 2008
Juneau residents should be proud of their efforts to conserve electricity in the wake of the Snettisham avalanches that cut off our main power source. Collectively, the community has reduced its energy use from 1,006 megawatt hours April 15 to 660 megawatt hours four weeks later, on May 13. That's a 34 percent decrease.
web-posted Sunday, May 18, 2008
Even if but at a piece at a time and in amounts far less than this summer's electric bills stand to be, Juneau residents and the rest of the state are getting some financial relief from the state government.
web-posted Sunday, May 18, 2008
With all due respect, I think it is fantastic that Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, commends us for reducing the electricity use by 30 percent (I'm green), and how it is an example for the rest of the country; I also feel it is a slap in the face.
web-posted Sunday, May 18, 2008
Is security for Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. employees really necessary?
web-posted Friday, May 16, 2008
I don't understand the outcry against Alaska Electric Light & Power over the Snettisham problem. One major failure in 35 years isn't negligence; it's outstanding. So is having sufficient local generation to power the entire city. Most cities go dark when the long lines fail.
web-posted Friday, May 16, 2008
I am visiting from Hawaii and see a lot of complaining about Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. Does anyone appreciate the inexpensive electric you had before the downed power lines?
web-posted Friday, May 16, 2008
The power line was constructed in a known avalanche paths, rather than going around the avalanche paths; they, whoever constructed the power line, chose to place towers in the paths of the avalanches with the obvious expectation that it would be more cost effective to repair rather than avoid the avalanches.
web-posted Thursday, May 15, 2008
Is God bored in heaven? Is he angry? I don't think so.
web-posted Thursday, May 15, 2008
The word "disaster" has been part of our everyday vocabulary for the past four weeks.
web-posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008
The following editorial first appeared in the Peninsula Clarion:
web-posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Does the community really benefit from the toxic complaints about Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. that have been published recently in the Empire?
web-posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008
So, I look at my neighborhood at 9 p.m. It's almost dark out. Not a light showing from any of my neighbors as far as my eyes can see. What must they be doing in such a dark existense? Then I look at the city's street lights. They are shining brightly!
web-posted Monday, May 12, 2008
The following editorial first appeared in the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner:
web-posted Monday, May 12, 2008
On Wednesday, April 16, avalanches destroyed three structures and damaged two others on the Snettisham transmission line, severing the connection to Juneau's main power supply. After assessing the damage, Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. began making plans for restoring service from Snettisham.
web-posted Sunday, May 11, 2008
I've seen and heard a lot of anti-Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. comments over the last couple of weeks, and I'm a little disappointed with the string-'em-high attitude coming out of some of the people in this town.
web-posted Sunday, May 11, 2008
Alaskans are no strangers to crises. In our short history we have faced many. But thanks to our resourcefulness and our commitment to community, we have always endured.
web-posted Sunday, May 11, 2008
Given the recent situation of the "power crisis" in Juneau I thought I would share a positive story.
web-posted Sunday, May 11, 2008
As we ponder the future of Juneau's economy, it's useful to think of the avalanches as a metaphor.
web-posted Friday, May 9, 2008
We are all in this energy crisis together.
web-posted Thursday, May 8, 2008
I have lots of time to think when, after dinner, I climb into bed for warmth and try to consume less electricity by not using light bulbs and the television.
web-posted Thursday, May 8, 2008
The consumer is inclined to purchase from whomever delivers a commodity at the lowest price.
web-posted Thursday, May 8, 2008
As the front-page article in Sunday's Empire told us, Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. leaders will change nothing as a result of its negligence in the Snettisham crisis.
web-posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008
It is interesting that the corporate heads of Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. continue to get their high salaries and we the consumer have to pay them for their mismanagement of our power.
web-posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The ease with which several recent letter writers vilify Juneau's utility company in their need to assign blame for the current electric crisis troubles me. In such times, those who desire positive change should work together for the common good rather than attack the easiest target.
web-posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008
With everyone cutting back on wattage, aren't you feeling a little batty? Seems everywhere I go, businesses and people are doing what they can to help out - and wouldn't you know, just when my eyesight seems to be failing, little by little.
web-posted Wednesday, May 07, 2008
The recent decision by the Gov. Sarah Palin's Disaster Policy Cabinet should not be the final word regarding the state of Alaska providing assistance to the community of Juneau and all Juneau residents to help offset the increase in electrical costs brought about by the need to switch from hydroelectric to diesel power generation of electricity.
web-posted Monday, May 5, 2008
Has Alaska Electric Light & Power Co. ever thought about doing "controlled avalanches" to keep disasters from happening? Knowing the area is prone to mud slides and avalanches, it would only be responsible business management to monitor the area for these problems and act accordingly.
web-posted Monday, May 5, 2008
Thumbs up to our local merchant, Superbear, who is noticeably reducing its light consumption.
web-posted Sunday, May 04, 2008
More than two weeks after avalanches cut Juneau off from its primary source of cheap electricity, here's how we're handling the resulting energy crisis as a community:
web-posted Sunday, May 04, 2008
Like a man dying of thirst in the middle of the ocean, Alaskans are adrift in a sea of state cash while our citizens drown in a tidal wave of unjustified costs for heating oil and electricity for homes and businesses.
web-posted Sunday, May 04, 2008
This is serious.The current energy situation is a lot more serious than a matter of turning off lights and putting up a clothesline, and a lot more serious than the city's shortening library hours and shutting down an escalator.
web-posted Sunday, May 04, 2008
Now that the Palin administration has washed its hands of the Snettisham disaster, we the ratepayers should insist that our Juneau Assembly as well as our local delegation determine why it is that the state agency that owns Snettisham is not doing more to correct the problem and to come up with state funds to do it with.
web-posted Sunday, May 04, 2008
According to the state of Alaska Corporation, Business and Professional Licensing, Alaska Electric Light & Power does business under the name of Alaska Energy and Resource Company. The stockholders are William A. Corbus, who has 47 percent; Stanford University, which has 11 percent; Leland Stanford University, which has 11 percent; National Financial Service, which has six percent; G. Barkley Corbus, of Colorado, who has nine percent; and Clay Corbus, of San Francisco, who has five percent. Anyone who has less than five percent of the stock was not listed.
web-posted Friday, May 2, 2008
After doing a little research, I found out that Snettisham is owned by Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.
web-posted Thursday, May 1, 2008
Alaska is a state widely known for its scenic grandeur and abundant wealth of natural resources. Of these natural resources, Alaska is known for its oil and in particular, its oil potential.
web-posted Thursday, May 1, 2008
So here I am writing angry letters to the editor by candlelight, something that I thought wouldn't happen until much later in life. Waiting two months to fix those towers is going to cost how much? We are talking $50 million.
web-posted Thursday, May 1, 2008
Having lived in Juneau for several years before returning home to the East Coast, I was outraged to read about the recent course of events following the destruction of a large portion of power lines on April 16, and the city's response to this situation.
web-posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008
In the 1990s the Juneau Assembly established a special fund called the Rainy Day Fund. The purpose at the time was to build up a reserve that could be used to cover unexpected financial emergencies.
web-posted Wednesday, April 30, 2008
The ongoing energy crisis in Juneau brings a variety of negative emotions to the surface that have crept into the blogs. Before the anger grows to silly proportions, I'd like to offer a layman's point of view to ponder.
web-posted Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Gregg Erickson wrote an excellent column regarding possible "overcompensation" to AEL&P (Sunday's Juneau Empire). I appreciate the effort he took to provide those of us who are not economists with a "heads up" regarding the compensation that might go to the power company.
web-posted Monday, April 28, 2008
One aspect of the Snettisham powerline debacle which has not been publicly addressed is the obvious permanent solution: replacement of overland transmission lines with a submarine cable.
web-posted Sunday, April 27, 2008
Economic shocks make for a big story, and exaggerated descriptions of potential economic impacts are often found in such stories. Loss of Juneau's connection to low-cost power from the Snettisham hydro project was no exception.
web-posted Sunday, April 27, 2008
During a recent jog on Glacier Highway, I looked up to the sky expecting to see only sunlight.
web-posted Friday, April 25, 2008
I am writing in concern about the electricity bill increase.
I feel that Alaska Electric Light & Power should have had insurance on those towers. All of us have to have car insurance, home insurance, flood insurance, renter's insurance, etc.
web-posted Thursday, April 24, 2008
The avalanche that wiped out Juneau's hydro power has unleashed a new avalanche - of ideas for conserving our electric use.
web-posted Thursday, April 24, 2008
Two related things in Tuesday's Juneau Empire caught my attention.
The first was the Associated Press article, "Retail gas hits record $3.50 as oil marches higher," in which the writer said, "Gasoline and diesel prices are expected to keep climbing as they trace the path of crude. Oil prices are charging along with a host of commodities that are enticing speculators seeking hedges against a weakening dollar."
web-posted Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The April 16 avalanches have affected every family, business and government agency in Juneau. We are already coping with the consequences of this event - trying to conserve energy - as we prepare for the direct and indirect financial impacts to our household and working place budgets.
web-posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I understand that Alaska Electric Light & Power recently installed underwater power lines to Hoonah and Greens Creek. Could someone please explain why Juneau has to receive electricity with above-ground power lines (that keep failing) and there seems to be no problem sending electricity beyond Juneau with underwater cables.
web-posted Tuesday, April 22, 2008
I would like to add a little reality to the suggestions that were provided to the public by the spokesperson for Alaska Electric Light & Power.
web-posted Sunday, April 20, 2008
Juneau faces a daunting challenge in the months ahead as the cost of elec-tricity skyrockets nearly 500 percent in the wake of Wednesday's avalanche that cut Alaska's capital off from its main power source.
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04-23-08
Locals and business owners are asked how they are cutting back to save on their upcoming electrical bills. | by Abby Lowell
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