What is the Railbelt?

The Alaska Railbelt is a crucial part of our state's power supply system. It  is the system that generates and distributes power to most of the state's residents. Electricity is essential for many of our daily functions. It makes life safe and efficient. What many don’t know is that Alaska's electric grid is very different from the rest of the continental United States. Our power grid operates independently of other electrical grids. But what exactly does that mean? We’ll delve into what the Railbelt is, how it affects Alaskan communities, and some of its features that have proven themselves outdated and detrimental to consumers.  

The Railbelt is a collection of utility companies that serve to provide energy and power to 75% of Alaska's population. Its name comes from its adjacent position to the Alaskan railroad. These utilities  generate, transform, and distribute power from North to South as follows:   Golden Valley Electric Association  (GVEA),   Matanuska Electric Association   (MEA),   Chugach Electric Association   (CEA),   Homer Electric Association   (HEA),   City of Seward . This group of utilities make up what we call the Railbelt electrical grid. 

Every electric grid consists of three parts: Electricity generation, transmission, and distribution.

• Generation how electricity is made. A power plant might use fossil fuels, natural gas, solar panels, wind turbines, ect. to generate electricity.
•  Transmission is how power moves from where it is generated to where it is used. It runs along the lines you would see running along highways. Those large metal structures with multiple electric lines fastened to them transport the generated energy to different locations along the energy grid.  
• Distribution takes the energy from those transmission lines and brings it into our homes and businesses so that we can use it in our daily lives.  Distribution lines are the wooden poles that we see outside of homes and along city streets. 

In the continental United States, there are around 3,000 electric utility companies that specialize in any one or combination of the sectors of energy described above. They work together to share power and respond to shortages and emergencies.

In the Railbelt Grid in Alaska, this is not the case. 4 out of the 5 corporations mentioned above have the responsibility of generating, transmitting, and distributing power to the people of Alaska. While Lower 48 energy systems can move power in multiple directions, the Alaskan Railbelt can only send energy along a single line running south to the north. So, in the event of an emergency outage in a city like Anchorage or Seward, their power company employees would have to come out in potentially dangerous conditions to provide power to the citizens in these regions. These limitations speak to how crucial these utilities are to the citizens and businesses of Alaska. 

Cost

The first community effect that we’ll look at is cost. Everyone knows that bills have to be paid to maintain a household but in a state like Alaska, where the cost of living is 30% higher than the national average and the price of power ranks as second most expensive in the United States, it can be difficult for households to maintain these costs. 

If you look at the chart below, you’ll notice that as we move from south to north, the price of electricity increases. This increase in cost can be explained by the term “ rate pancaking ”. If you've ever looked at your energy bill, you’d notice that there are a couple of charges tacked on that aren’t tied to your power usage. There might be a base charge, usage charge, price forecasting charge, high consumption charge, ect. One very important surcharge that consumers might not be privy to is the charge to move power from utility to utility to compensate for shortcomings of generation within their utility.  All of these rates are completely up to the companies that provide these serivices. Thus, the variability of the cost of energy makes it difficult for consumers to predict the cost of electricity.  

To put this chart into perspective, the average electric bill in Alaska is $140.69 compared to the national average of $138.02. This might not seem like a large difference but this coupled with Alaska's rank as 5th highest in the nation cost of living, you start to realize that every penny counts. We also have to consider that customers in the northernmost part of the Railbelt and remote communities are paying more for their electricity, especially in the winter months.

Environmental

Another facet of the Railbelt that directly affects communities is the generation of power.  As of 2022,  most of Alaska's energy generation comes from crude oilI (diesel). The oil and gas industry is responsible for nearly 16% of Alaska's  employ ees. These companies provide a boost in economic activity that can be great for smaller communities by providing employment opportunities as well as power. That being said, t here  are so many aspects of oil and gas that negatively impact communities. These include waterway contamination, light and noise pollution, harmful emissions, damage to infrastructure, loss of subsistence hunting lands, and many other shortcomings that prevent urban and rural Alaskan communities from thriving.  New research  shows that the decarbonization of Alaska’s electricity could  offset  many of these burdens to Alaska citizens by implementing renewable energies into Alaska's current portfolio of energy production. If a shift in the industry is done correctly, the cost of fuel will drop dramatically and the cost of maintenance for these renewables will rise.Within the “Alaska’s Railbelt Electric System: Decarbonization Scenarios For 2050”, a pre feasibility study done by ACEP, it was found that as more renewable energy solutions are implemented, costs for fuel goes down while costs for operations and maintenance go up. These services could provide stable employment with union jobs in communities that rely on the energy industry to feed their families.  As a result, many of the employees within the oil and gas industry will be able to transfer their skill sets into the renewable energy industry and this would even create more jobs within Alaska. In addition to creating additional jobs and environmental benefits, renewable energies can help  offset the cost  of electricity for consumers, as the generation of electricity becomes essentially free after the initial cost of materials and set up are covered.

 The oil and gas industry could be less secure than we originally thought. T he Hill corporation, the main natural gas harvester for Alaska, warns that the Natural gas in Cook inlet is projected to run out by 2027 or 2028 . There are abundant gas fields in the northernmost part of the state but lawmakers are struggling to make decisions about the fate of the industry. State decision makers have a couple of options:

1. Create a 800 mile pipeline comparable in distance to length between New York and Florida. This solution would cost billions of dollars and increase the price of power for already struggling consumers. 
2. Alaska would need to import natural gas from other parts of the world, despite its abundance within the state. This would be cheaper than building a pipeline but still put many jobs in jeopardy.

or

3. Incorporate more renewables into Alaska's energy portfolio.

The  third option  would be most feasible for the long term because it's more affordable than building a  pipeline  and renewable energies are generally less harmful to the environment. Click here to learn more about renewable energies. 

The Railbelt is an incredibly crucial and unique part of Alaska's infrastructure. Its independently operating grid is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of the Alaskan people. It represents both challenges and opportunities. Looking forward, one can hope that the state can evolve and incorporate more sustainable solutions to help make the world a cleaner place.