A policy group in Anchorage is pushing for the city’s two main electrical utility companies to merge.
In a letter sent Wednesday to city leaders, the director of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, Bill Popp, wrote that a recently convened working group concluded that stakeholders should seriously consider merging Municipal Light and Power with the Chugach Electric Association.
The working group is made up of ten local businesses and organizations, many of whom are concerned about recent rate increases and growing energy costs. After four meetings, including one with a national energy consulting firm, the group is asking city leaders to begin presenting the idea of a merger to the public.
The letter was addressed to Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, outgoing Assembly chairwoman Elvi Gray-Jackson and the heads of both utilities. It points to inefficiencies like redundant infrastructure and problems integrating new energy sources into the grid that are contributing to higher rates.
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
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