Alaska Legislature Faces “Crunch Time” on Energy Solutions

May 13, 2024

With Alaska’s legislative session constitutionally mandated to end at 11:59 PM on Wednesday night, there are still plenty of items for the 60 men and women serving the state to consider.

When it comes to energy legislation, the most pressing pieces involve how to deal with a potential Cook Inlet natural gas supply crunch.  Whether incentivizing producers to explore and drill more or supporting the construction of additional storage to hold imported natural gas, delaying approval of some sort of plan would be irresponsible. 

Grid upgrades are also being discussed, albeit for reasons we won’t always agree with legislators on.  The standard narrative is that allocating $205 million in state funding – to match a federal grant – will help improve the grid’s resiliency and lower rates.  If you listen to anti-fossil fuel organizations, those upgrades will enable for-profit wind and solar ventures to integrate into the grid more easily, which will increase both rates and unreliability.

We expect lots of chaos to ensue between now and session’s end, and we’ll stay on top of stories that impact jobs and Alaska’s bright energy future.