MEA Discusses Future of Railbelt Power

The Railbelt Utilities, including Matanuska Electric Association, or MEA, put forth a unified message about the future of power generation from Homer to Fairbanks at the February 1st Senate Resources Committee Meeting.

The CEOs and General Manager of Homer Electric Association, Chugach Electric Association, Golden Valley Electric Association, and MEA all took a turn to provide details about their near-term and future goals for bringing power to the railbelt customers. MEA’s CEO, Tony Izzo, sums it up after the meeting. 

“Across the Railbelt, in discussions with my peers, it seems as we have increased collaboration there is a lot of common ground around similar goals of fuel supply diversification and carbon reduction.”

Power source diversification and carbon footprint reduction were reiterated throughout the meeting. Julie Estey, MEA’s Senior Director of External Affairs and Strategic Initiatives, shares the various options that may become available, in addition to natural gas, to help diversify the power sources. 

“There’s lots of different options….There’s people talking about nuclear, hydro, and wind, and solar, and tidal, [and] geothermal. There’s a lot of options on the table, and we’re going to need all of us working together to do it and a good transmission system to send it where it needs to go.”

All indications are that the existing transmission infrastructure is fragile and needs redundancy in the way of upgrades to existing lines, new lines, and battery storage. 

Though MEA already has 16 percent renewable energy, its goal is at least 50 percent. To get there, MEA will still need natural gas. When asked specifically about its standing, Izzo indicates that the current contract with Hilcorp to provide natural gas will go through March 31, 2028.

MEA and the other railbelt utilities are partnering on various wind and solar projects, in addition to exploring the possibility of importing natural gas to meet the demands should Cook Inlet supplies come up short. For the near term, it appears MEA has enough gas and other power sources to keep the lights on.