Energy Costs in Alaska
Recently here in Juneau we went through a spell where our hydro-electric power supply was interrupted by avalanche. The subsequent costs for switching over to diesel made our power bill increase about 5X. This caused quite the uproar in Juneau, and while the town was on diesel for half the length of time originally proposed, it threw the energy/oil issue straight into the limelight.
In Alaska, we produce a lot of oil. It gets piped out of the fields up north down to Valdez, loaded onto tankers, shipped off for refining, turned into heating oil or gasoline, shipped back to Alaska, and put in our tanks. From what I've seen, we pay more for Alaskan gas in Alaska than others in the "lower 48" due to the extended shipping costs.
Alaska is a rich state because of the oil field rights. Every Alaskan receives a check each year for around $1000 from the Permanent Fund because of this. Even still, our villages are drowning in fuel costs. Juneau is lucky to have hydro power, but most villages in Alaska run their electricity off diesel generators. The costs are astounding. This article in the Anchorage Daily News states that a gallon of unleaded gasoline in Barrow costs $10. Diesel for heating houses is only slightly less expensive. And the situation is getting worse. The irony is Barrow is only a few hundred miles from some of the richest oil fields in the world.
"I'm tired of everyone else harping on $4 a gallon for gas," said longtime Barrow resident Marvin Olson. "We've been paying that for four years when everybody else was paying $2 a gallon."
The governor is working on a plan to give every Alaskan a $1200 supplemental to offset the costs of energy, but is that enough, and can the state keep it up?
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