Offshore in Cook Inlet, a 'silent economy' hunts for gas to keep Alaska running Northern Journal helicoptered out to the offshore rig drilling for the increasingly scarce natural gas that powers urban Alaska.
Rolling blackouts could loom for urban Alaska as natural gas crunch intensifies Homer Electric Association, which serves much of the Kenai Peninsula, recently announced that it secured an “interruptible” gas agreement for the next year — meaning that it could experience a shortfall of the fuel during a cold snap.
Regulators, advocates warn of utility inaction as Alaska gas shortfall looms “The window for making decisions is closing,” said one top regulator. “If things just sort of slide and there’s no leadership, and we’re in the same position 12 months from now, we are looking at a dire, dire, situation. And people should get angry.”