Anchorage mayor forms energy task force

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Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan has created a task force to address a looming energy crisis.

“We look to this blue-ribbon task force to address both immediate and long-term energy needs, including making sure Anchorage residents have an uninterrupted supply of gas to heat their homes this winter,” Sullivan said in a statement.

The task force includes a range of industry representatives, along with a variety of planning and business professionals. The same panelists were part of the mayor’s transition team; indeed, they jointly authored the energy portion of the transition report.

In recent winters when temperatures dipped below zero the city has come dangerously close to failing to meet the needs of its gas customers, the mayor’s office said. The administration, including emergency management personnel, is developing contingency plans for such an event. Municipal Manager George Vakalis is examining this issue as a standalone challenge.

Immediate and long-term

Members of the Energy Task Force include:

• Judy Brady, former executive director, Alaska Oil and Gas Association;

• Dan Coffey, Anchorage Assembly liaison and private attorney;

• Dave Harbour, former commissioner, Regulatory Commission of Alaska;

• Tony Izzo, co-chair of TMi Consulting and former CEO of Enstar;

• Arden Page, mediator/private attorney;

• Mary Ann Pease, Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority;

• Bill Popp, president and CEO, Anchorage Economic Development Corp.;

• Steve Pratt, energy consultant; and

• Bob Stinson, president, Conam Construction Co., past president of the Alaska Support Industry Alliance.

—Petroleum News