Alaska utilities seek to form transmission-only utility

Four Alaska utilities submitted an application to the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to form a transmission-only utility in Alaska’s Railbelt region.

The four utilities that filed the application are the Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA), Anchorage Municipal Light and Power (ML&P), the City of Seward, and Homer Electric Association (HEA).

These entities have worked for more than four years, in collaboration with Chugach Electric Association and Matanuska Electric Association, to evaluate how the formation of an Alaska Railbelt Transmission company would provide overall benefits to consumers. The utilities worked closely with American Transmission Co., (ATC) a Wisconsin-based transmission-only utility formed through a similar effort in 2001 in the Midwest.

The filing establishes the need to form a transmission-only utility and describes how transmission services will be provided to each of the existing Railbelt utilities.

The RCA will conduct a six-month review of the application.

Anchorage ML&P provides electric utility service to commercial, university and medical customers in Anchorage. Golden Valley Electric Association is a member-owned cooperative that serves over 44,800 meters and maintains 3,260 miles of transmission and distribution lines in Alaska. Homer Electric Association is a member-owned electric cooperative that serves the western Kenai Peninsula. The City of Seward runs its own electric utility and purchases power from Chugach Electric Association.