HEAMF Call in Reminder

DON'T FORGET!!! CALL THE COFFEE TABLE PROGRAM
KBBI/KDLL this Wednesday, May 19 at 9:00 AM

The focus will be all things HEA with guests HEA General Manager Brad Janorschke and Public Relations Coordinator Joe Gallagher.

Call 235-7721 on the southern peninsula, 1-800-979-7405 from elsewhere.

ASK QUESTIONS
TELL THEM WHAT YOU WANT AS AN HEA MEMBER

1. ANTI-COOPERATIVE PRACTICES
Why were HEA members excluded from the planning of the Independent Light project?

Shouldn’t the HEA membership be given a chance to approve, modify, or reject this historic change?

Shouldn’t HEA members have more opportunities for planning and approving or rejecting other proposed projects such as small hydroelectric and wind?

Was the Alaska Electric and Energy Cooperative (AEEC) formed with approval of the HEA membership or simply by the HEA Board and staff?

2. ALASKA ELECTRIC & ENERGY COOPERATIVE (AEEC)
Is it true that HEA members are not also AEEC members? Who is an AEEC member?

Who runs AEEC?

Who is AEEC responsible to?

Does the HEA Tariff also apply to AEEC or does it have it’s own?

3. LEVEL OF DEBT
Is it true that the combined HEA/AEEC debt is or soon will be at $339 million.

Is it true that AEEC is not bound by the $450 million HEA debt cap and has no such limit of its own?

Will $180 million cover all elements of the Independent Light project or will additional debt be required? If more, how much?

How will payment toward interest and debt retirement affect electric rates?

4. INDEPENDENT LIGHT AND OTHER PROJECTS
HEA management asserts that “studies indicate that the cost for HEA to own and operate the new assets will be about the same (perhaps slightly lower) as paying another utility for wholesale power.” Where can HEA members review these studies?

Even though the decision was made without their input, most HEA members seem to support upgrading the Nikiski plant. However, many question the wisdom of buying new gas turbines for Soldotna as the best way to meet peaking, reserve, and contingency demand. Would you be willing to bring the wider HEA membership into the decision process now?

If we invest hundreds of millions in Nikiski AND new gas turbines to meet ALL base load, peak, and emergency demands how will we afford to buy significant amounts of renewable energy as new projects come on line?

The Legislature appropriated $7 million to fund a 5 MW reciprocating generator or a battery bank to allow HEA to integrate the 14.4 MW of power from the Kenai Winds project into the existing grid. Why won’t that solve the problem of “following” this intermittent source of energy?