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Lawmakers want June session expanded Report on TransCanada app to be done mid-May; Senate cut energy items from budget, some of which are needed to pursue gas line Steve Quinn Associated Press Writer
The Alaska Legislature wants Gov. Sarah Palin to expand the scope of the upcoming special session, hinting it might also need to amend Palin’s Alaska Gasline Inducement Act.
The House and Senate introduced separate resolutions April 2 to include discussions of an intrastate line in addition to an intercontinental line proposal that has emerged as the front-running choice.
The only company to produce a proposal that conforms to the law’s bid requirements was Calgary-based TransCanada Corp. It wants to build a 1,700-plus mile long line to ship North Slope gas to a pipeline hub in Alberta.
No one questions the stakes: getting North Slope gas — estimated to be 35 trillion cubic feet of reserves — to the appropriate markets.
Difference in views But lawmakers and Palin’s administration view the April 2 resolutions differently.
Palin questioned the timing of the announcement, saying it was done to distract attention from the Senate’s capital budget. Lawmakers on April 2 cut several of Palin’s energy development related items from the bill.
“I’m surprised as some of the goings-on today at the Legislature,” Palin said. “There isn’t a need to do this.”
The Legislature, however, says the purpose is not to undermine current developments with the session in a home stretch; lawmakers adjourn April 13. Lawmakers say it’s also not meant to supplant Palin’s efforts, but rather supplement them.
“I don’t consider this a poke at the governor or the administration in anyway,” said House Majority Leader Rep. Ralph Samuels, R-Anchorage. “All we want to do is to continue the discussion of instate gas and energy policy in Alaska.”
Report due in mid-May In late March, Palin said her administration would submit a report on the merits of the TransCanada proposal to the Legislature the week of May 19, hold forums one week later, then begin a special session June 3.
Should Palin recommend TransCanada be forwarded to the lawmakers for consideration of a license to build a pipeline, what some lawmakers consider to be a foregone conclusion, the Legislature has 60 days to approve or reject the referral.
But the clock would start ticking before the special session, which key lawmakers say is not what they want.
“We want to make sure the clock doesn’t peter out on us,” said House Speaker John Harris, R-Valdez. “We want to have a broad enough call to talk about other issues, especially the issue of instate gas.”
Lawmakers from both parties say soaring energy costs are driving the need to use special session to review costs for an instate line that could address short-term needs.
“We have an energy crisis in state,” said Sen. Bill Wielechowski, an Anchorage Democrat who serves on the Senate Resources Committee.
“We simply can’t wait 15 to 20 years for a big gas line to come online,” he said. “We need to take immediate action now to start preparing for instate gas use the next five to seven years.”
Small line wouldn’t compete But AGIA does not prohibit competing pipelines.
An instate line shipping less than one-half billion cubic feet of natural gas would not be considered competitive under the current law. The prospects of a larger line, however, would require amending AGIA.
“There’s a lot of conversations in the building whether AGIA would be amended to accommodate other proposals,” said Sen. Lesil McGuire, an Anchorage Republican who serves on the Senate Resources Committee. “But, mainly it’s the information we want to get.”
The Senate on April 2 cut several energy-related items from the $1.8 billion capital budget, some of which are needed to pursue a gas pipeline, which made no sense to Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Tom Irwin. The items cut address short-term energy issues, said Irwin, who is also a member of the administration’s gas pipeline team.
“We need to get down to budget issues,” Irwin said. “How could this possibly not be passed by the Senate?”
Cuts included:
*$1.5 million to Alaska Oil & Gas Conservation Commission to conduct various studies before major gas sales from the North Slope take place;
*$4 million to the Division of Oil & Gas to evaluate resource development on the North Slope; and
*$41 million to the Alaska Energy Authority for energy projects. Of that, $30 million came from federal funding.
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