|
AEA closing its Anchorage warehouse Staff to be relocated to agency’s Anchorage office; power plant construction work to be contracted out rather than done in house Alan Bailey Petroleum News
Faced with state budgetary constraints, the Alaska Energy Authority is closing its north Anchorage warehouse, the facility that it has been using for the design, assembly and support of small-scale power generation facilities for rural Alaska. In future the agency will offer for competitive bid the design and construction projects, with AEA acting as construction administrator rather than constructor, Michael Lamb, AEA executive director, told the AEA staff in a March 1 memorandum. An alternative contracting arrangement may be considered for management approval in rare situations where an alternative approach may be warranted, the memo said.
The current warehouse staff will be moved to AEA’s office in Midtown Anchorage, from where the agency will continue its support services for electrical systems in rural communities. Those services include technical assistance, emergency response following a power failure and a circuit rider program for on-site assistance.
Communities concerned During an AEA board meeting on March 30, representatives from several rural communities expressed concern that the warehouse closure would degrade the service that AEA provides in assuring the availability of electrical power in communities where the necessary technical expertise may be in short supply or prohibitively expensive.
Lamb told the board that the changes were necessitated by a directive from the state Legislature to phase out the use of state unrestricted general funds by AEA by 2019. Lamb sought to assure the communities that the changes represent a new mode of operation for AEA rather than a diminution of services. In fact AEA is seeking to move to a situation where it has more circuit riders available for rural assistance. And there are legal requirements for rural support that AEA has to comply with.
“Money is tight and we need to comply with the law and what the Legislature says,” Lamb commented. “And part of that brings change and I think that brings uncertainty and it makes people scared that they’re not going to have the help they need.”
Denali Commission During the meeting AEA officials expressed concern about a provision in the proposed federal budget to pull funding for the Denali Commission, a federal agency that provides utility and infrastructure support in rural Alaska. In a federal funding match with the state, the Denali Commission provides funding support for assistance with rural electrical power and power house projects. Kirk Warren, AEA chief operating officer, told the board that if the budget measure goes into effect, there is the possibility of AEA’s rural energy programs becoming defunded, with a complete rework of those programs becoming needed.
|
