00                   HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 7                                                                    
01 Requesting that the Alaska Energy Authority develop an infrastructure plan to reduce                                    
02 power costs in the state.                                                                                               
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS, because Alaska gained statehood in 1959, the state was precluded from                                  
05 benefiting from earlier efforts made by the federal government to invest in rural electrification                       
06 throughout regions of the lower 48 states; and                                                                          
07       WHEREAS the state's electrical grids are not interconnected to those in other states                            
08 or territories, and many communities in the state have isolated microgrids; and                                         
09       WHEREAS the isolation of many electric systems throughout the state means that                                  
10 consumers in communities served by those systems cannot benefit from a reduction in energy                              
11 bills by utilizing lower-cost power from other areas of the state; and                                                  
12       WHEREAS the average retail price of electricity in the state's rural communities is                             
13 the highest in the United States; and                                                                                   
14       WHEREAS more than 300 of the state's rural communities are not connected to the                                 
15 railbelt electrical grid or state road system; and                                                                      
16       WHEREAS, of the state's 710,000 residents, 20 percent live in rural communities                                 

01 spread over 500,000 square miles; and                                                                                   
02       WHEREAS rural communities have virtually no access to natural gas as an energy                                  
03 source for heating and electricity, relying instead primarily on diesel fuel, wood, and                                 
04 renewable energy; and                                                                                                   
05       WHEREAS diesel fuel and gasoline used for heating, electricity, and transportation                              
06 typically costs from 50 to 100 percent more in communities off the road system compared to                              
07 those on the road system; and                                                                                           
08       WHEREAS high energy costs for heating, electricity, and transportation have a                                   
09 multiplying effect, increasing the cost of all goods and services in rural communities; and                             
10 WHEREAS the compounded effect of high energy costs and limited economic                                               
11 opportunity result in low-income rural residents paying as much as 40 percent of their annual                           
12 incomes on home energy needs; and                                                                                       
13 WHEREAS high energy costs have a negative effect on small and large businesses                                        
14 and industrial and other development; and                                                                               
15 WHEREAS improving electric infrastructure, such as transmission, will encourage                                       
16 development of the state's abundant renewable energy sources and enhance system reliability                             
17 among interconnected communities; and                                                                                   
18 WHEREAS residents in communities with the highest power costs in the state are                                        
19 unable to shoulder the financial burden of developing large-scale power infrastructure without                          
20 significant government investment; and                                                                                  
21 WHEREAS carbon emissions can be lowered through the development of                                                    
22 economically feasible renewable energy projects and investment in an electric vehicle                                   
23 charging network; and                                                                                                   
24 WHEREAS the future of the state's economy will depend, in large part, on affordable                                   
25 electric energy in all parts of the state;                                                                              
26 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the Alaska Energy                                      
27 Authority, in coordination with utilities throughout the state and with statewide power and                             
28 electrical organizations, develop a comprehensive 10-year infrastructure plan to reduce power                           
29 costs in areas of the state that endure extremely high electric and heating costs; and be it                            
30 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature requests that the Alaska                                           
31 Energy Authority deliver a plan for the reduction of power costs in the state to the senate                             

01 secretary and the chief clerk of the house of representatives by May 31, 2022, and notify the                           
02 legislature that the plan is available.                                                                                 
03 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Mike Dunleavy, Governor                                      
04 of Alaska; the Honorable Julie Anderson, Commissioner, Department of Commerce,                                          
05 Community, and Economic Development; and Curtis Thayer, Executive Director, Alaska                                      
06 Energy Authority.