HEA board seats spark debate — Candidates represent differing views on future of co-op

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

Six candidates are vying for three seats on the Homer Electric Association Board of Directors. Ballots were mailed to HEA members March 30 and are due back by May 2. Members may also vote by attending the annual meeting at 6 p.m. May 3 at Homer High School.

Candidates were asked the following 10 questions. Their responses are below.

1. Tell us a little about yourself.

2. Why are you running?

3. What are your top three priorities for HEA that you would like to advance by being on the board?

4. What do you think of the proposed Grant Lake hydroelectric project near Moose Pass?

5. What do you think of the rate-restructuring plan that went into effect in January?

6. What do you think the future of power generation for the peninsula should be, and how should we get there?

7. Name two things you think HEA does well?

8. Name two things you think could be changed or improved?

9. Why do you think you’re the best candidate for the position?

10. Is there anything else you would like members/voters to know about you?

Grant Lake hydro denied funds — Study continues on proposed 4.5-MW project

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

The Alaska Energy Authority’s recent rejection of a $4 million Renewable Energy Grant application to fund construction of a proposed hydroelectric dam on Grant Creek in the Kenai Mountains near Moose Pass may have been a matter of putting the cart before the horse, but has not resulted in unhitching the project.

Work will continue on conducting field studies, applying for licensing from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and pursuing construction funding.

“HEA continues to be enthused about the feasibility of developing a low-impact Grant Lake hydroelectric project and the renewable energy that this project would add to HEA’s generation portfolio,” said Joe Gallagher, spokesman for Homer Electric Association, in an emailed response to questions about the AEA funding decision.

Kenai Hydro, LLC is a subsidiary of HEA, formed to investigate the feasibility of constructing hydroelectric projects on the Kenai Peninsula. Initially, in 2008, four sites were considered, Grant Lake, Falls Creek, Crescent Lake and Ptarmigan Lake, all in the mountains near Moose Pass, and all connected to the Kenai River drainage. Economic feasibility was found lacking in all but the 4.5-megawatt Grant Lake project, and development work on that site has continued.

Much of Kenai Hydro’s work has been supported by funding through the Renewable Energy Grant program, administered by the AEA and established by the Legislature in 2008 to provide assistance to utilities, independent power producers and local and tribal governments in researching and developing renewable energy projects in Alaska.

Kenai Hydro got $100,000 for a reconnaissance assessment, $816,000 in round one of Renewable Energy Grant funding, plus another $1,184,000 in round four. The application period for funding in round five closed in August, and Kenai Hydro submitted a request for $4 million in funding for project construction.

Winds wreak havoc — HEA responds to latest in month of storm outages

By Jenny Neyman

Photos courtesy of Homer Electric Association. An HEA crew works to repair a power line on South Miller Loop in Nikiski after a downed tree took out the line in a Nov. 2 storm.

Redoubt Reporter

Getting angry at the weather is an exercise in futility. Getting angry at the utility service for power outages caused by the weather is just about as productive.

Kenai Peninsula residents have had their patience tested on both accounts the last month and a half, as a series of winter storms have blown through Southcentral Alaska, dumping snow and rain, turning roads into rutted ice chutes with thawing and refreezing temperatures, and whipping up wind gusts clocked at 50 mph. The storms have clobbered the power grid, causing hundreds more outages among Homer Electric Association customers in November and so far this December than any of the five preceding years, with some outages affecting thousands of customers at a time, and some lasting a day or more.

The latest outages came with strong winds Sunday, with an outage Sunday morning affecting about 2,300 homes in Soldotna, and outages Sunday night affecting about 1,800 homes between Kenai and Soldotna, about 590 homes from the start of Kalifornsky Beach Road in Kasilof to the VIP subdivision in Kenai, and along Echo Lake Road.

“We’re doing pretty good as of right now, we’ve got everything taken care of,” said Joe Gallagher, HEA spokesman, on Monday. “It was a busy weekend.”

As frustrating as it may be to lose power repeatedly and for long stretches — especially in winter in Alaska when loss of electricity can also mean loss of heat and water — Gallagher said that HEA customers have been patient with the situation.

“These outages, as inconvenient as they are, people really are understanding about what’s going on. Even though we’ve had a number of outages, they’ve all been related to storms, and so while people’s power is out, they’re just looking out their front window and seeing the trees blowing back and forth,” Gallagher said. “On the public relations part of things, it has been actually kind of an eye-opener that people are really understanding about their power being out because they realize the conditions.”

Almanac: Electrifying news you can use

By Clark Fair

Homer Electric Association’s first-ever Ruralite cover in 1971.

Redoubt Reporter

The subjects of local stories ranged from the museum run by Cohoe’s Charlie and Freda Lewis to the ribs barbecued by Sterling’s Cotton Moore, from the boardinghouse run by Kenai’s Louisa Miller to the greenhouse endeavors of Nikiski’s Lee Myrick, and from the painting artistry of Anchor Point’s Norman Lowell to the photographic artistry of Cooper Landing’s Cecil and Helen Rhode.

Besides features on peninsula personalities, there were stories on Kenai’s Parks and Recreation Department, Kenai Central High School teacher Jim Brewer’s carpentry class, the growth of heavy industry in Nikiski, the work being done by the Youth Conservation Corps on Swanson River Road, and the Totem Tracers’ efforts to create an exhaustively researched compendium of Kenai cemetery inscriptions and memorials.

Although old issues can be difficult to come by these days, for 20 years the Kenai Peninsula was served by a feature-

Louisa Miller was on the cover In April 1977.

oriented monthly magazine that arrived in the mailboxes of nearly all residents who powered their homes with electricity.

But it was only partly a magazine about life on the Kenai. It was also a periodical about local rural electrification issues. It was about features from other parts of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, and it was about country-style recipes, kids’ pages, classified ads, letters from readers and folksy good humor.

It was called the Alaska Ruralite, and it went out to all members of the Homer Electric Association. The 32-page magazine replaced a monthly HEA-printed newsletter called, unremarkably, “The Co-op Newsletter.”

The Ruralite’s Homer edition began officially with Volume 18, Issue 11, in November 1971 — and unofficially with Issue 8 in August of that year. In either case, the subject of the feature story in both issues was the same: Hazel Heath, who founded Alaska Wild Berry Products with her husband in Homer in 1946 and then went on to a string of successful Homer-based careers, including a stint as mayor.

HEA hydro dam on hold — Existing grants not enough to cover costs of needed studies

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

Forward motion has dried up on Homer Electric Association’s proposed project to install a hydroelectric dam on Grant Lake in the Kenai Mountains until an inflow of grant funds can be secured.

Brad Zubeck, project engineer with HEA, updated the Kenai-Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee on the status of the project Jan. 11 at the Soldotna Sports Center, followed by a similar presentation in Moose Pass on Jan. 13. The presentations were conducted after a joint meeting with the public, involved agencies and Native tribe representatives in Seward on Nov. 12.

State grant funds have been the public money paying for project development to this point, but HEA doesn’t expect to have enough grant funds left to complete work on the next phase of development, which entails completing studies and gathering data on the area to gauge what impact the project might have on fish, water resources, wildlife, plants, historic and cultural sites, and recreational uses of the area.

“We’re bringing our activities to a suspension at this time,” Zubeck said. “We still have grant funds available to us but as we look ahead we don’t have enough to fully implement the studies that we anticipate.”

Cook Inlet Region Inc. and enXco, HEA’s initial partners in Kenai Hydro, the financial organization formed to pursue the hydro projects, announced in October their intention to back out of the venture.

“Our partners took a look at the economics and said, ‘There’s not enough room for us, we have other interests.’ And so they are withdrawing,” Zubeck said.

The project, as described in the Pre-Application Document submitted to the Federal Energy Regulation Committee in Aug. 6, calls for a 4.5-megawatt hydropower plant below Grant Lake with an influx of additional water taken from nearby Falls Creek in the mountains above the Seward Highway near Moose Pass. The area is part of the watershed that feeds the headwaters of the Kenai River.

An intake tower would be built on Falls Creek to draw water into a 2,800-foot-long, 10-foot diameter tunnel penstock emptying into Grant Lake. A dam would be built at the outlet of Grant Lake to increase water storage capacity in the lake. The water would be drawn out of the lake through a steel pipe penstock to a powerhouse with two turbines, then returned to Grant Creek above the section of creek used by anadromous fish, including spawning salmon. The lake lever would vary from 10 feet above the natural elevation to 25 feet below.

“That’s a range of values that we work within for licensing purposes, so if for some reason we change our minds and say, ‘Oh, we would like to take it 15 feet higher,’ we’d have to start back over again with studies and impacts and that sort of thing,” Zubeck said.

Almost 3 ½ miles of access of roads are expected to be built, which may or may not be open to public access, depending on U.S. Forest Service input, he said. Visual impacts from the highway are expected to be minimal.

Initially, Kenai Hydro applied for permits to investigate installing hydro dams on Crescent Lake and Ptarmigan Lake, as well, but surrendered those permits in September.

“Some folks talk about industrializing the whole watershed. That’s not the case. We have one project right now that does look semiviable,” Zubeck said.

Hydro sites dry up — Kenai Hydro passes on 2 sites, pursues combo project

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

Kenai Hydro is abandoning plans to build hydroelectric dams on two of the four streams it was permitted to explore in the Kenai Mountains near Moose Pass, and is moving forward with a combined project involving the other two streams.

The limited-liability company is a joint venture by Homer Electric Association and Wind Energy Alaska, which is co-owned by Cook Inlet Regional Corp. and enXco Inc. The hydro projects were granted preliminary permits in October 2008 and $50,000 grants from the Alaska Energy Authority to help offset the costs of preliminary permit work.

On Sept. 25, Kenai Hydro submitted petitions to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to voluntarily surrender its preliminary permits on Ptarmigan Lake and Crescent Lake, stating for each that, “Our reconnaissance level investigations determined the project to be unfeasible at this time.”

“The studies indicated that both projects faced environmental and economic challenges that would be too expensive to overcome,” stated a press release issued Monday.

A combined project involving the other two waterways, Falls Creek and Grant Lake, is still going ahead, with Kenai Hydro submitting a Notice of Intent and Pre-Application Document to FERC in August.

As originally envisioned, the 3-megawatt Ptarmigan Lake project involved damming the outlet of Ptarmigan Lake, but still allowing some water to be released into Ptarmigan Creek for fish usage, as it is a salmon-spawning stream. An intake structure at the outlet of the lake would have brought water through a 9-foot-diamater tunnel just shy of 1.5 miles to a powerhouse. A half-mile road would be built across from Ptarmigan Campground to access the powerhouse, along with a two-mile, single-lane road from the powerhouse to the lake outlet. By the time Kenai Hydro submitted its six-month progress report on the project to FERC at the end of March, it had already decided the project was unfeasible.

Crescent Lake, a particularly popular hiking and fishing area, was originally pegged for a 5.8-megawatt facility. The plan was to dam Crescent Lake where the footbridge is now, still allowing some water release into Crescent Creek. On the other end of the lake, a 7,750-foot tunnel or deep trench would be dug to install a 13,000-foot steel penstock that would take water from the east end of the lake past Carter Lake and down the mountainside to a powerhouse at 550-feet elevation. The trench would traverse the valley between Carter and Crescent lakes along roughly the same route as the hiking trail. A new, 2.5-mile road would be built up past Carter Lake to access the intake structure on Crescent.

Though there has been opposition from Moose Pass and Cooper Landing residents against all the dams, opponents found the Crescent project to be particularly loathsome, in part because the area is so prized for its recreational uses.

“Crescent Lake and that Crescent Lake bowl is essentially a de facto park. That’s the way the public treats it. To lead off with that one is shooting themselves in the foot,” said Bob Baldwin, president of the Friends of Cooper Landing community group, which had opposed the Kenai Hydro projects from the start.

Traditional, yet not — Kenai Hydro requests nonstandard licensing process

By Jenny Neyman

Redoubt Reporter

Along with submitting preliminary plans to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a joint Grant Lake-Falls Creek hydroelectric project in the Kenai Mountains near Moose Pass, Kenai Hydro has requested to use an alternate licensing process that would govern the process from here.

Kenai Hydro submitted a request to use the Traditional Licensing Process in early August and had its request approved Sept. 15, with the stipulation that it conduct scoping early in the process.

The Traditional Licensing Process is an ancestor of the commission’s Integrated Licensing Process, which was adopted in 2005 as FERC’s default process.

According to FERC, the integrated process “is intended to streamline the Commission’s licensing process by providing a predictable, efficient and timely licensing process that continues to ensure adequate resource protections.” Those efficiencies come through three principles: “Early issue identification and resolution of studies needed to fill information gaps, avoiding studies post-filing; Integration of other stakeholder permitting process needs; and established time frames to complete process steps for all stakeholders, including the Commission.”

In the traditional process, the applicant has more leeway to steer the process, and FERC doesn’t have much involvement until the application is filed. In its request to use the traditional process, Kenai Hydro noted that it would prefer the flexibility of the traditional process, rather than the set timelines of the integrated process.

“(Kenai Hydro) must effectively manage the schedule of its licensing, studies and engineering/design efforts to allow the Project to be constructed and power brought on line in an expeditious and cost effective fashion. Flexibility in the regulatory requirements is necessary to allow (Kenai Hydro), in consultation with agencies and other stakeholders, to make adjustments to the timeframes of various components of the licensing process to best utilize available time prior to expiration of the preliminary permit. This flexibility is lacking in the ILP, which is generally designed to complete pre-filing consultation within the window of time from the (Notice of Intent) to the expiration of an existing license,” states the request letter.

HEA talks green — Renewable energy, costsare big topics at membership annual meeting

By Naomi Klouda
Homer Tribune

Homer Electric Association’s annual meeting in Homer on Thursday drew a record turnout as new members of the HEA Board of Directors were voted in.

Alan Bute, of Kenai, won the race for the seat representing District 1, Ed Oberts, of Soldotna, was elected to the seat representing District 2, and Jim Levine, of Homer, was elected to represent the members in District 3.

In District 1’s Kenai-Nikiski district, Alan Bute received 736 votes and Andrew Patrick garnered 538 votes, for 1,274 votes total.

In District 2’s Soldotna-Sterling-Kasilof area, Ed Oberts received 451 votes, Jim Fassler received 401 votes, incumbent Bill Tappan finished with 359 votes and Terrance Johnson ended up with 209 votes, for 1,420 votes total.

In District 3’s South Kasilof-Kachemak Bay area, Levine received 688 votes, incumbent Don Seelinger had 530 votes, Pete Roberts received 436 votes, Doug Stark tallied 273 votes, and Steve Franklin finished with 65 votes, for 1,992 votes total.

HEA Q&A — Co-op general manager explains practices

By the Homer Tribune

The Homer Tribune interviewed Homer Electric Association General Manager Brad Janorschke in a written format, in preparation for this the meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at the Homer High School.

Q: We hear a lot of things tossed around in terms of input and accountability, but what does it really mean to be considered a “member-owned cooperative”?
A: Being a member-owned cooperative in the most basic definition means the members own the cooperative. This ownership starts in the membership’s election of a board of directors whose primary responsibility is establishing the strategic direction of the utility. Ownership also means any revenue in excess of expenses is allocated to the members in the form of capital credits. This contributed capital is ultimately returned to the members.

Electric issues spark HEA candidacies — 11 board hopefuls have different views on what’s best for co-op

By Jenny Neyman
Redoubt Reporter

The Homer Electric Association Board of Directors elections this year have drawn extra attention due to skyrocketing electricity rates, dwindling natural gas reserves, questions over coal power, the pursuit of renewable energy sources and a proposal to merge elements of the Railbelt utilities.

Ballots were mailed out Friday and are due May 6, or HEA members may attend the annual meeting May 7 at Homer High School in Homer to cast their vote. Eleven candidates are seeking three seats in three districts. District 1 covers Kenai, Nikiski and parts of the Soldotna area. District 2 is Soldotna, Sterling and Kasilof. District 3 is Kasilof south to Kachemak Bay area. Members may only vote for one candidate in their district.

Following are questions asked of each candidate and their answers. Candidates’ resumes can be found online at http://www.homerelectric.com.

1. Gov. Sarah Palin has suggested merging the power generation and transportation functions of the Railbelt electric utilities, which is now being considered by the Legislature. Do you support this move? Why or why not?
2. What’s your take on renewables?
3. Do you support the proposed hydropower projects near Moose Pass? Why or why not?
4. Do you support HEA’s involvement with the Healy coal facility? Why or why not?
5. HEA’s contract to purchase wholesale power with Chugach Electric will be up in 2014. What should be done to secure a sustainable power supply for HEA?
6. What should be done to stabilize and/or lower rates for HEA members?
7. Are there any other issues facing HEA that are a priority for you?

Editorial: Shedding light on HEA elections

These are electric times. The Homer Electric Association Board of Directors has always served an important function on the central and southern Kenai Peninsula, but one that hasn’t always garnered much attention from HEA members. Come annual election time, picking names and returning ballots for some voters is fueled more by a desire to qualify for energy credits than it is a concern over the politics and policies of the co-op.

It’s not that who gets elected doesn’t matter, it’s just that voters haven’t had much incentive to take time out of their busy lives to familiarize themselves with the issues facing the HEA board and the views of those seeking seats on it.

Until now. This past year’s dramatic increase in electricity rates has had one positive side effect: It gets people’s attention.

Guest editorial: Transparency, good faith, public participation needed to solve energy dilemma

Recent grass-roots action by Homer Electric Association cooperative members which resulted in the HEA Board’s decision to contract a third-party, fact-based Power Supply Study is a shining example of why public participation is essential in influencing responsible regional energy policy, including study and development of renewable energy projects.

Unfortunately, HEA, doing business as Kenai Hydro LLC, is aggressively pursuing hydroelectric projects proposed for Kenai River headwaters near Moose Pass and Cooper Landing, which do not represent good renewable energy policy or good public policy.

HEA widely and deliberately misrepresented the projects as “low-impact” to obtain public money and to defuse legitimate public criticism.

HEA funding requests mischaracterizing the projects as low-impact resulted in over $1 million in public funding from the Denali Commission, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority/Alaska Energy Authority, and the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee.