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Nikolaevsk next up for natural gas
The tiny village of Nikolaevsk could soon become the second community in the southern Kenai Peninsula to be added to the Southcentral natural gas distribution grid.
The Armstrong Oil & Gas Inc. subsidiary Anchor Point Energy LLC recently asked state regulators to approve an agreement with Enstar Natural Gas Co. that would deliver supplies from the North Fork unit to the small community just north of the city of Homer.
Approval from the Regulatory Commission of Alaska would allow Enstar to use a $447,000 grant from the state to add an interconnection to the North Fork Pipeline.
With “prompt approval” by the RCA, the Nikolaevsk Community School and the local fire station could convert their heating systems this summer in advance of next winter.
8,930-foot 2-inch line If given the go ahead, Enstar would build a regulator station at the North Fork Pipeline and a two-inch pipeline running 8,930 feet to a recently built regulator station at the school. While the school will likely be the largest customer, Enstar expects to eventually add the fire station and 12 homes during the initial build out. As of October 2011, Enstar had installed nearly two miles of distribution main pipelines throughout Nikolaevsk.
The RCA added Nikolaevsk to the Enstar service area in 1997.
The community is home to some 308 people, according to the state.
While the North Fork Pipeline is currently feeding into the regional distribution grid, communities in the southern Kenai Peninsula see it as a chance to get off heating oil.
The pipeline is currently delivering supplies to the coastal community of Anchor Point, but is not yet connected down to Homer and Kachemak, home to nearly 6,000 people.
The Alaska Legislature approved an $8.15 million line item for that project, but Gov. Sean Parnell has yet to release his final vetoes for the fiscal year 2013 capital budget.
—Eric Lidji
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