OPINION: Cold winter highlights Alaska’s need for reliable heat and power

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A recent joint hearing of the House and Senate Resources Committees that I attended in Juneau made clear the importance of natural gas to Mid-South residents and businesses.

The brutality of this winter has sounded a wake-up call in southcentral Alaska about the importance of reliable energy. When temperatures dropped to -20 degrees in parts of Anchorage and -40 degrees in parts of Massou, reliability was the difference between life and death that other companies were looking for.

In short, natural gas saved us from the crisis. During the coldest week of the winter, Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska, a gas storage system managed by Enstar, began experiencing problems with portions of the storage network, leaving utility customers across southcentral Alaska without full gas supply. began to suffer.

Thanks to fossil fuels, the crisis was averted. Despite using a record amount of natural gas on January 31st (268 million cubic feet compared to his normal January demand of 160 million cubic feet) , the heat and power systems remained intact. Hilcorp, Alaska’s leading natural gas producer, has increased production beyond contracted amounts. Other Cook Inlet producers also ran full throttle. This was the difference between heat and light rather than cold and darkness in our home.

It should be a moment of celebration. Traditional energy solutions worked just as they have in south-central Alaska since the Swanson River fields were first developed in the 1950s.

Lawmakers were more interested in scoring political points to advance their green agenda than in simple gratitude. Sen. Bill Wirechowski criticized Hilcorp for its profit margins instead of focusing on supporting producers so they can extract gas. Congressman Donna Mears’ question to the presenter turned to “oil is bad.” This was language consistent with the platform of the state Democratic Party, which is considering a call to halt all oil drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

The level of resentment towards the very companies that could solve the supply shortage was astonishing. Rather than learning from the experience, lawmakers were content to dodge the bullet, acting as if nothing had happened and the threat had been permanently averted.

That’s not the way to govern. There is no future in turning away from reliable energy sources.

Alaska is rich in natural resources. At Healy, he has a century’s worth of coal reserves and nearly 2 trillion cubic feet of gas waiting to be drawn down from the North Slope, where natural gas has been in demand across the rail belt for nearly 150 years. is waiting to be produced in Cook Inlet.

Look at all the progress underway from traditional energy sources in our state. Companies like Santos are working hard to extract oil from the Pikka oil field. So is ConocoPhillips Inc. and its Willow project on the North Slope. Hilcorp is revitalizing the Prudhoe Bay area, and other companies are looking to start production in the coming years.

A new boom may be just around the corner. The problem is not a lack of supply. It’s a lack of will to invest in projects and producers. Finding a path to get these supplies to market should be a priority for lawmakers for the rest of the session. There is no doubt that this mission should take precedence over anti-market renewable energy portfolio standards.

Without reliable, affordable energy in South Central and throughout the Railbelt, people living on the margins of inflation and high prices are at risk of falling off a fiscal cliff. Population outflows will explode, businesses will close, homelessness will increase, and social unrest may occur.

Renewable energy is not the answer, and it won’t be soon. During the recent cold snap, hydro, wind and solar accounted for less than one-seventh of the electricity. If we’re going to survive another severe winter storm, government officials need to appease green donors who live in warm San Francisco and mild Seattle and invest in failed wind and solar power. Instead, we should call for something more effective: Alaska’s natural gas.

If we listened to those promoting renewable energy “solutions” that are not yet ready for prime time, the result would be widespread bursting of pipes in homes and businesses. It might have been. Damage to the underlying infrastructure can take months or even years to repair. Worse still, such conditions could cause widespread power outages and even loss of life. These are very real and tragic consequences when heat and power are not available when needed.

But we did it because fossil fuels were delivered to us. they are good people. Thankfully, they are in abundant supply in our state. They deliver, work, power our daily lives, and will last for decades.

rick whitbeck He is the Alaska state director for Power the Future, a national nonprofit organization that champions energy jobs in the United States. To contact him, [email protected] Follow him at X (formerly Twitter) @PTFAlaska.

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