The Energy Connection
Dear Editor: No question, the electric fund needs additional revenue. It is expensive to provide the exceptional level of electric service we often take for granted in Sitka. Changing revenue requirements are usually met with increased load growth, rate increases or both. Load growth is almost always the preferred choice for ratepayers.
At last count, it was about $50M for a submarine cable to new customers in Kake, (notwithstanding, the $300M or so for the line from Sitka to Baranof.) Like us, our neighbors are struggling with the costs of living in Southeast Alaska. Yet here in Sitka we have abundant renewable energy; only sadly, the cost of transmitting that energy to market are exorbitant. Is there another way to market our hydro to help ourselves and our neighbors? Perhaps; if you trade in units other than kilowatt-hours.
I would encourage the Assembly consider development of a Commercial Electrical Agricultural Rate. The concept is simple: offering a very low electric rate ($0.01-0.03/kWh) may encourage private business to commercially produce food for local consumption and export to our neighbors.
Utilizing our pristine and plentiful Blue Lake resources (hydro, potable water) in conjunction with modern horticultural equipment, virtually any vacant buildings/space in Sitka could conceivably produce income and become a viable business. This is an opportunity to create a new agricultural sector, increase electric load, improve our food security, lower living costs and bonus; get really fresh tomatoes year round. Perhaps Sitka can literally grow its way through these trying times! Or not.
The Assembly as the rate-making authority has the ability to implement such a rate if desired and with little to no cost for the ratepayers. There are lots of details of course but in these challenging times we should consider all options. No harm done if there is little interest in pursuing this endeavor.
Christopher Brewton, Sitka
Need Broadband
Dear Editors: I have to applaud the dream that gave us abundant hydropower. It was an equally creative dream that is driving the construction of a deep water facility in Silver Bay. The one essential piece of infrastructure we have not dreamed is broadband internet, essential for new industry.
The dreams become magical if we keep thinking that the community can pay for all of this. There are no controls on the dream-like replacement of realism with magic. The city-operated electrical business is a case in point. There is no regulation. If the electric department was a private business or a utility, it would go broke. Instead, we prolong the dream by magically coming up with unlimited price escalations for the electrical consumer.
The only way out of the cost spiral spell is economic growth. We must increase our efforts to bring high tech industry here.
I have heard of a small effort to promote 3-D printing. This is a good example of what we need. Sitka lacks only broadband to be an ideal location for industry that demands cheap, abundant electricity. We need to make the broadband magic happen. We need to shift our magic into convincing industry to come here.
This is the real direction we need to take. We have dreamed up most of the infrastructure. What is the reality that it will support? Clean, electrically dependent industry.
John Welsh, Sitka
