All Of The Dam In Alaska

Alaska-Washington Connection 2011: Alaska grapples with rural energy puzzle

Alaska-Washington Connection 2011: Alaska grapples with rural energy puzzle

Resource-rich state joins federal government, private sector in seeking ways to reduce costs, ease burden on small communities

Rose Ragsdale

For Alaska-Washington Connection

Alaska has enormous quantities of untapped or under-utilized energy resources, including some of the highest concentrations of fossil and renewable energy resources on earth. In addition to vast oil and natural gas resources, primarily located on the North Slope and in Cook Inlet, the state has proven coal reserves that rank as the fourth-largest fossil energy resource in the world. Nature also bestowed significant undeveloped geothermal resources in the volcanic art of the Aleutian Islands, abundant untapped hydropower, wind, and biomass resources, and the majority of the tidal and wave power potential in the United States.

Yet rural communities throughout Alaska are chronically burdened with economy-stifling high energy costs. When oil prices spiked to $144 per barrel in July 2008 before plummeting to under $50 per barrel by December 2008, many Alaska villages where winter fuel must be purchased before fall freeze-up suffered a severe shock and extraordinary economic hardship. For those communities, there was no potential relief until the following spring.

While no year since has been as bad, Rex Wilhelm, president and CEO of Alaska Commercial Co., said his company, which owns and operates grocery and general merchandise stores in at 27 rural Alaska communities, keeps a close watch on oil prices.

“We’re very conscious of the price of oil and the dependence on it in our markets,” Wilhelm said. “We purchase fuel from the local vendor like everyone else.”

Alaska Commercial Co. also pays fuel surcharge on the goods shipped to its stores when oil prices are high.

Kavin Keyes a hero in Alaska League game - Building The Dam

From the Anchorage Daily News:

"-- Kavin Keyes was in the hero business Thursday night at Mulcahy, and business was exceptional.

Keyes delivered a three-run double in the eighth inning and a game-winning two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth to spearhead the Anchorage Glacier Pilots' remarkable 8-7 Alaska Baseball League win over the Mat-Su Miners.

The Pilots trailed 5-0 after six and a half innings, 6-2 after seven and a half innings and 7-5 entering the bottom of the ninth inning. Anchorage scored all of its run in the last three innings.

Maxx Garrett got the Pilots going with a two-run homer in the seventh to cut Mat-Su's lead to 5-2. Brady Hohl went 4 for 5 for Anchorage and scored two runs, and Cael Brockmeyer went 3 for 5 with a run scored.

Adam Martin and Kevin Lum each drove in two runs for Mat-Su and Michael Gerlach and Tim Zier each furnished three hits.

Keyes' heroics made a winner out of reliever Trevor Bayless (1-1).

(Promoted to the front page.)

  What a night for Kavin! 5 RBIs and 3 errors!

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