Regulatory Commission of Alaska

Alaska Power Company (Public Comment by Gary Hanson)

To the Members of the Regulatory Commission

I am a 32 year resident of Skagway.  I supported the hydro projects that APC built in the Skagway borough.  However, at the time that APC was considering building the Goat Lake hydro project, Skagway residents were told that our rates would go down because the diesel generators would no longer be needed.  Shortly after the Goat Lake hydro project was completed, APC bought Haines Light and Power and started sending Goat Lake power to Haines via an underwater cable.  As a result of the Haines purchase and the cable installation our power rates went up!  And, the resulting demand from adding Haines customers to the Goat Lake hydro power supply meant that at times that diesel generators had to be turned back on, reinstating the use of fossil fuels to power the grid.  This also brought on further increases in our monthly bill in the form of an “energy charge” for diesel use.  On my last bill, this Energy Charge equaled 9.30 cents per KWH while the Electric Rate was 13.06 per KWH.  Combined, these rates equal 22.36 cents per KWH.  I believe you have to consider this energy charge when talking about any rate increases as it is not, to my knowledge, being mentioned in the APC application for rate increase.   As a community that is producing enough hydro power to supply its own demands, Skagway pays an exorbitant rate per KWH.  In a sense, Skagway rate payers are being punished with higher costs because APC chose to invest in the power utility of a neighboring town, exported power to that town, and then passed the expense on to us.

 I have looked online to try and find the recent APC rate increase proposal so I can comment a bit more specifically to their reasons for the increase, but I am unable to find them.  A call to the local office confirmed that request is not available on the company website. 

Because of this lack of information, I would join Mayor Schaeffer in requesting that the Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) elevate the matter to docket status thereby allowing a more measured consideration by all parties.  We need more information from the company justifying this rate increase request.  We rely on the RCA to look out for the best interests of the rate payers in this manner.

Thank you,

Gary Hanson

PO Box 197

Skagway AK 99840

Type

Comments

Date Filed

12/26/2013

Tracking Number

TR1308253

Filed By

Gary Hanson

Entities

APC

Certificate(s)

Means Received

Internet

Related Matters

TA835-2	Alaska Power Company (Interim and Permanent Increase)

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