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Palin names energy coordinator for Alaska, plans to immediately address crisis in rural areas
Hoping to reduce the cost of energy in Alaska both now and for the future, Gov. Sarah Palin appointed a former Fairbanks utility head to coordinate energy issues for the state on March 5.
As Alaska’s first energy coordinator, Steve Haagenson will “lead efforts in developing a strategic energy plan” for the state, Palin said. (See related story on page 5 of this issue.)
“What we’ve done here in Alaska is conduct numerous studies and spend hundreds of millions of dollars on energy projects, but Alaska has lacked a comprehensive plan and a statewide policy,” Palin said.
Through the position, Haagenson will also serve as the executive director of the Alaska Energy Authority, a public corporation of the state. Receiving unanimous approval from the Alaska Energy Authority board, Haagenson won the position from a field of about six candidates.
Haagenson comes to the position from the Golden Valley Electric Association Inc., the member-owned electric cooperative in Fairbanks, where he served as the president and CEO until retiring in November 2007.
Altogether he spent 30 years with the electric utility, taking his first job the day after graduating from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Engage all Alaskans “What I’d like to do is engage all Alaskans to help identify local resources and technologies that we can employ to help get the cost of energy down,” Haagenson said.
Addressing the issue at a local level, Haagenson said he plans to take input from communities around the state to create and implement a business plan for lowering the cost of energy in Alaska, preferably with government help, but limited government funding.
“If we can do it on our own, we should do it on our own... The business community should step forward and do it, if it’s economic,” Haagenson said.
That philosophy follows work Haagenson did as the chairman of a special taskforce assigned with lowering the cost of energy in Fairbanks.
That taskforce is attempting to integrate several different alternative energy projects to the existing Fairbanks electrical system, including both renewable energy and alternative technologies for traditional fossil fuels.
Looking to address the current crisis of energy costs in rural Alaska before tackling the issues of urban Alaska, Haagenson said he plans to immediately promote broad conservation measures designed to lower energy costs on the household level, and would like to assess how much energy the state uses in daily operations.
Giving a rough timeline that he acknowledged was artificial, he said he hopes to have an energy policy ready by the end of the year, in time to bring any legislative requests forward at the start of the next regular session in January.
The state has budgeted around $200,000 for the position in the coming budget, largely to cover travel and supplies, according to Karen Rehfeld, director of the Office of Management and Budget.
The new position comes as mayors of the Southcentral region proposed a broad statewide energy policy focused on urban Alaska and promoting both renewable and non-renewable fuel sources.
Haagenson said he had not seen the plan, but added, “one of the key words is ‘sustainability,’ and I think no matter what fuel you select in the future, you need to make sure it’s sustainable.”
Asked if his goal for Alaskan villages was to replace diesel fuel, he said, “My goal is to reduce the cost” of energy.
—Eric Lidji
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