ALASKA POWER ASSOCIATIONMichael Rovito, Deputy Director

September 18, 2019

ASSISTS MEMBERS IN ACCOMPLISHING THEIR GOALS

OF DELIVERING ELECTRIC ENERGY AND OTHER

SERVICES AT THE BEST VALUE TO THEIR CONSUMERS.

APA SOUTHEAST MEMBERSHIP• Southeast Alaska Power Agency

• Trey Acteson, CEO

• Inside Passage Electric Cooperative

• Jodi Mitchell, CEO/General Manager

• Alaska Electric Light & Power

• Connie Hulbert, President and CEO

• Alaska Power & Telephone Company

• Michael Garrett, President and CEO

• Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (Yakutat)

• Meera Kohler, President and CEO

• Metlakatla Power & Light

• John Cameron, Interim General Manager

INDUSTRY OUTLOOK• Renewables: APA members are continually integrating economically feasible

renewables from both utility-owned and IPP assets.

• Investments in cybersecurity: cyber threats have increased, and APA members are making significant investments in protection and prevention.

• Rates: APA members work to hold rates down by negotiating reasonable fuel contracts, diversifying generation sources, and taking advantage of new tech.

• Technology: Battery development and renewable technology advancing rapidly. Many utilities in Alaska are looking to load follow and store energy, especially as more renewables are integrated. DOE is perusing Grid Storage Launchpad to speed development of battery technology.

APA supports:• Renewables: Support for continued deployment of economically feasible

renewable energy and policies that remove roadblocks to successful renewable integration.

• Regulations: Protect Alaska’s ratepayers and economy from increased rates due to government regulations and penalties.

• Funding: Innovating utility-state financing models for funding hydro and other electric project development

• Preserving the Power Cost Equalization Endowment and funding the PCE program

• Railbelt utilities continuing their voluntary efforts to implement efficiencies

POWER COST EQUALIZATION

• Gov. Dunleavy proposed draining the PCE Endowment Fund and repealing it.

• APA strongly opposed this, and the legislature opposed it as well

• Dunleavy plan: fund PCE from general funds in competition with all other funding needs of the state

• This is directly counter to longstanding APA state policy positions.

POWER COST EQUALIZATION, CTD.

• PCE Endowment and Program was included as APA advocated in the operating budget

• PCE also survived Gov’s vetoes

• The failure of the reverse sweep defunded PCE for FY 2020. • APA reached out to House members who voted against the reverse

sweep.• SB 2002, with reverse sweep, was approved on July 29• Gov did not veto reverse sweep in bill

FEDERAL LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS• RURAL Act (S. 1032)

• Fixes an unintended consequence of the 2017 federal tax bill

• Electric co-ops can only derive up to 15% of their income from non-member revenue

• 2017 tax bill made government grants and FEMA reimbursements count against 15% limit

• This puts many Alaska electric co-ops’ tax-exempt status at risk

• Sen. Dan Sullivan co-sponsored S. 1032 so far; Murkowski and Young currently considering

• Alaska Remote Diesel Emissions Limits relief

• Alaska Congressional delegation puts pressure on EPA to lower emissions limits for remote generators

• Sen. Dan Sullivan files bill to force EPA to lower limits

• EPA issues proposed rule lowering limits – Sullivan bill passes Congress on 9-17!

• October 3 is date of new rule, but adverse written comment was submitted so timeline may slip

Michael Rovito, Deputy Director

• mrovito@alaskapower.org

• Anchorage: 907-771-5711

• Juneau: 907-463-3636