Left Out!!

The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) is holding Energy Plan Town Hall meetings in 25 communities throughout Alaska "to discuss local energy resources and which resources they think could possibly be developed to help lower costs "- and Haines is not one of them!! How can this be? Let's see if we can turn this around.

Steven Haagenson, Executive Director of the Alaska Energy Authority, wrote in a 25 April email to me, that he "...would have liked to have met with every Alaskan to engage them in participating in the energy solution. If we went to numerous meetings, we would get bogged down in the process and implementation of our rapid deployment strategy. As the next best solution, we selected 34 communities to visit and then whittled that down to 25. I know your task force has been active, as I have had communications with one of your members."

So I asked Mr. Haagenson (email and phone) what criteria was applied to select communities. I haven't heard back yet. It just seems so odd to me that the only community in Alaska that has bothered to establish a task force to look into energy, that has published a report that is circulating nationally (see Post Carbon Cities), that has a mayor who has stated a goal of creating a model for using renewable resources to power the municipality, that is actively investigating a wood-fueled heating system for its school, that is fielding a request from an electrical power supplier to open up a lake at the head of a fish spawning area for additional hydro capacity, is not considered absolutely RIPE for a discussion about local energy sources, which to develop, "and which they prefer not to develop and why."

Mr. Haagenson has invited us to comment via email (energycoordinator@aidea.org), the postal service or phone calls. That's great, but isn't it way way better for us to hear each other and to altogether hear AEA at a Town Meeting? Obviously AEA thinks it's better for communities to gather around this issue. And I bet they'll figure out a way to come here if enough of us ask them, so please send Mr. Haagenson a little note (shaagenson@aidea.org) saying that you want to come to an AEA Town Hall meeting in Haines to figure out how "to provide stable-cost energy now and ensure affordable, reliable energy for our children and our grandchildren." Just for good measure, copy the Borough Clerk with your request (jcozzi@haines.ak.us). Throw my email in the CC spot too (sscott@aptalaska.net). I'd like to know how you feel about meeting. Thanks.