Alaska Politics Blog : Wielechowski and McGuire release energy recommendations

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Erika Bolstad

Erika Bolstad covers Alaska issues, including the congressional delegation, from Washington, D.C., for McClatchy Newspapers. Before joining the bureau in 2007, she spent seven years as a reporter at the Miami Herald, where she covered politics, government and the state legislature. E-mail Erika at ebolstad@adn.com.

Sean Cockerham

Sean Cockerham writes about Alaska state politics. He's worked for the ADN in Anchorage and Juneau, covered the legislature for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, and covered Washington state politics for the Tacoma News Tribune. E-mail Sean at scockerham@adn.com

Kyle Hopkins

Kyle Hopkins covers rural affairs, general assignments and politics for the ADN. He covered the 2006 campaign for governor, has blogged extensively about Alaska politics, covered Anchorage city government and was a reporter based in the Mat-Su. He grew up in Southeast Alaska and previously wrote for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and Anchorage Press. E-mail Kyle at khopkins@adn.com and also find him on our rural Alaska blog, The Village.

Don Hunter

Don Hunter covers Anchorage city government and politics. He is a longtime ADN reporter and editor and wrote for the Anchorage Times. E-mail Don at dhunter@adn.com

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Wielechowski and McGuire release energy recommendations

Posted by Alaska_Politics

Posted: October 19, 2009 - 11:57 am

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From Sean Cockerham in Anchorage –

State senators today released a series of recommendations for lowering energy costs. The suggestions include consolidating the six Railbelt utilities and putting a combined $200 million into weatherization and the state program that helps homeowners pay for their energy efficiency improvements.

The recommendations are in draft form and described as a compilation of ideas. A final report is to come out before the next legislative session begins in January. In the meantime, the “Alaska Senate Energy Policy Group” has a web site to solicit input on what the public thinks ought to be done about energy costs.

The site contains a link to the full list of draft recommendations, put together by Senate Resource Committee co-chairs Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) and Lesil McGuire (R-Anchorage). The senators talk about spending $50 million a year to fund renewable energy projects, creating a state tax credit for geothermal production and a low interest loan program for businesses and homeowners who want to invest in their own renewable project.

Some of the recommendations, like the Railbelt utility consolidation, are for the Legislature to take action on bills already filed. The idea is that the utilities need to be united to pursue big projects like potentially the Susitna dam.

Then-Gov. Sarah Palin proposed utility consolidation but it didn’t get very far in the Legislature last spring, in part because of objections of Golden Valley Electric Association of Fairbanks.

The senators talk about working with the utilities and passing a new version of the bill.

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