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Gov. Sarah Palin's Disaster Policy Cabinet will meet Wednesday and review Juneau's looming power crisis, her office announced Monday.

The group may decide as soon as then whether a "disaster" declaration for Juneau should be issued. The city has been cut off from its main hydroelectric power source since a slide took out transmission lines last week.

A state disaster declaration will help Juneau obtain both state and federal emergency funding, said Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau.

"It's not the end of the game even if we don't get one, but it is going to make it easier," she said.

The Cabinet will decide whether the loss of power meets certain criteria, such as health and safety concerns, and what resources are available, said Sharon Leighow, Palin's spokeswoman.

Alaska Electric Light & Power, Juneau's privately owned electric company, has been operating on backup diesel generators ever since last week's slide, at great cost in newly expensive fuel.

Utility officials say power rates, currently about 11 cents per kilowatt-hour for homeowners, could wind up five times that high for as many as three months while the transmission line from the Snettisham Hydroelectric Project is fixed.

City, state and federal officials are trying to find ways to minimize the cost.

Leighow said the Cabinet consists of the commissioners of Public Safety, Administration, Commerce, Military and Veterans Affairs, and will meet with Mike Nizich, deputy chief of staff, and representatives of the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority and the Alaska Energy Authority.

They may recommend or reject a disaster declaration as soon as that day, or decide they need additional information, she said.

Today, representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Small Business Administration will be in Juneau to review the situation as well, Leighow said.

AEL&P is responsible for repairing the towers, said Karsten Rodvik, spokesman for the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.

The authority owns the Snettisham project and the transmission lines, built by the federal government in the early 1970s. It was transferred to state ownership in the 1990s.

"AEL&P has the responsibility to repair the project. AIDEA has the responsibility to make sure the project is repaired," Rodvik said.

It's not clear where money for repairs, let alone the unexpectedly high fuel costs, will come from. AEL&P said the plan is to ask for an emergency rate increase from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska.

AEL&P is required to maintain a fund of $3.4 million to cover emergency repairs, said Jim Hemsath, deputy director of operations for AIDEA.

Just three months ago, an engineer reviewed the amount of the reserve fund to make sure it was big enough, and decided the amount was appropriate, Hemsath said.

"It now appears to not be appropriate," he acknowledged.

How much it will cost to repair the towers is not yet clear. Hemsath said $5 million to $10 million might be a good guess, given the steep hillside.

"It's pretty rugged and aggressive terrain, without even a hint of a beach at the bottom," Hemsath said. He viewed the site last week.

A surveyor was at the site Monday, trying to find the bases to the former towers. If those bases, and locations of guylines can be found, it could speed repairs, he said.

The cost of replacement power could be more expensive than repair costs, city officials said. With AEL&P burning 100,000 gallons of diesel fuel daily, city officials estimate it will cost Juneau residents $25 million to cover the cost.

That's what the Empire has reported AEL&P brought in total revenue in 2005.

Had fuel prices not shot up recently, the backup generators might not even be more expensive to operate than the hydro project.

"If this was 2002, no one would even know that this was a problem," Hemsath said.

• Contact reporter Pat Forgeyat 523-2250 or e-mail patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.