With energy costs skyrocketing the price of gas in my community just hitting $6.75 for unleaded, home heating fuel at $6.50. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin(R) is proposing serious energy cost relief to Alaskans. Under her proposal, nearly a half a billion dollars would be used to offset electric costs for Alaskans. That money will largely be spent on the utility company/ co'ops level to offset the price of diesel used to generate power.

The more interesting proposal is the debit card for fuel system. Which would give Alaskans a debit card more or less, that could only be used to purchase fuel. Recipients would be based on those eligible to get the Permanent Fund Dividend.

adn.com | Alaska Politics : Palin energy plan: Grants to utilities and energy debit cards.

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Abstinence Education at its finest:

The energy situation is going to become far worse before any improvement is realized. Wouldn't the prudent direction be investing surplus funds to generate revenue for future contingencies instead of spending them now? Or is this simply a political gesture?

Energy prices in Alaska are the highest in the country, I am currently paying $6.75 for a gallon of gas. We desperately need relief now...which is what has spurred this.
The State of Alaska made an additional 8billion in surplus revenue this year alone. This is on top of the Permanent Fund contribution, the operating and captial budgets. So, the Governor wants to spend 1.2b out of 8b which is being saved for the future.
Isnt anything like this in some way a political gesture? It will be the subject of a special session here in a few weeks. So the legislature will put thier own handle on the situation. So it will be interesting how it turns out.
To this point, the plan has been poppular among Alaskans.

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Abstinence Education at its finest:

Energy welfare has been popular among Alaskans?



The shock!



This is not a long-term solution. It's unfortunate that the Alaskan people can't recognize that.

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That's still far less than Europeans and other nations who have been and still seem to be coping with it. But they don't have to use USD.

None of my business but I'd lean more towards using that $1.2B developing industries to offset the eventual decline of natural resource revenue.

Whenever the masses here and now mentality arises politicians are, by the nature of using public funds to achieve and remain in office, forced react accordingly.

Alaskans are no different than most Americans in that their demands for immediate gratification allow politicians to spend more public money to retain their popularity.

Well, of course. I didn't mean to imply that Alaskans were behaving differently than other Americans would.

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

You didn't.

This goes back to the resources of the state belonging to the residents, not necessarily the government. But in terms of past energy relief there hasnt really been much. In rural Alaska there is the PCE(power cost equalization) system which brings the cost of electricty to the residential consumer in rural Alaska in line with the most expensive road belt communities.
Right now my base rate for a KwH is .44 cents or so. Compared to probably less than a dime for most places in the lower 48 and 25 cents roughly for the road system.
So without some serious relief, communities would literally die in rural Alaska. In fact it is already happening. I am not joking when I say that if I have to buy diesel to run my boat this summer at $6+, it would be cheaper for me not to fish. That is a tragedy.


This is not a long-term solution. It's unfortunate that the Alaskan people can't recognize that.[/quote] Its unfortunate that you underestimate the intelligence of Alaskans. We know it cant be sustained. We are among the leaders in America when it comes to transitioning to alternative energy due to the high costs that have plagued areas of the state.
I am hearing everyone bitch about $4 a gallon, when in my community we have been paying over $4 a gallon since 2005. The Governor has recognized that alternative energy is important, but immediate relief has become critical.

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Abstinence Education at its finest:

But why should energy prices in rural Alaska be on par with urban areas? Why should that price be subsidized (ultimately by me)?

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

From what has been researched through the ADOE is that rural Alaskans have been paying roughly equivalent amounts to Europeans. But this is not due to taxes as the Euros have. This is due to an already high energy costs coupled with high transportation costs to the region.


Already billions put into it. Alaska puts its money where its mouth is. Ever heard of the little savings account AK has, called the Permanent Fund?
Bout 40billion in there last time I checked. Plus our standard state treasury. Which had from this year alone 8billion in surplus. This 1.2b would mean 6.8billion still being saved.
Alaska leads the way in long term savings for the time when oil production can no longer sustain the state.


You see this isnt quite true here. I will admit that if this passes and is made law, that it would probably ensure another 4 years from Governor Palin.
But Alaska is a very red state by and large. We by constitutional mandate save much more than any other state as I mentioned before. I think you are not understanding the crisis that is caused by having a compact car cost $75 to fill up. My toyota pickup truck costs over 100 bucks. But one can simply drive less. What is killing everyone is the price of diesel. Which is used to heat our homes, power our fishing boats, and generating our electricty.
Right now it will cost me $2000 to fill my home fuel tank. That wont last 2 months in the winter. 6 weeks tops. Plus it is going to cost me nearly $5000 a fill up for the FV Bunz Baby. That is nearly 10thousand pounds worth of salmon. Every 5 days. Just to cover fuel. I am not sure I am going to fish this summer, for the first time since I started in 1996.

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Abstinence Education at its finest:

Not by you. By the State of Alaska. If there is any effect at all, it is negligible to anyone in the lower 48, or really even Alaskans.

If the power wasnt somehow cheaper, it would become economically impractical to continue to live there. It has reached that tipping point for thousands of Alaskans already who have left for more urban locations like Anchorage and Fairbanks.

Just curious PJ, how much are you paying for gas at the pump? a KwH? your monthly heating bill which I will assume is natual gas? Lets have a little comparison here.
For the record, I know up front that life in the bush is more expensive. I am happy to pay the extra is takes to have the life I enjoy. I have been doing it for over a decade. There is a line that was crossed though that will effectively put the final nail in a lot of community coffins. Without some sort of relief, from the resources Alaskans own already, the urban areas will be ill-prepared for the migration from the bush to the cities.

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Abstinence Education at its finest:

Still, the State of Alaska has to be getting the money to subsidize energy from somewhere. Ultimately, I suspect that I'm paying for it via higher energy prices.

I'm not trying to be unduly callous, but why should I care if it is no longer economically feasible to live above the arctic circle where the only transportation is air or boat? Subsidizing petroleum so that people can choose to live on the absolute edge doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears

You might be. Probably negligible. Alaskas revenues come by and large from royalties on oil pumped from state lands. Then a tax based on profits from resources extracted from Alaska. Much the same as I am paying more for steel or any other resource due to the taxes and royalties imposed at the local level.

A few things, firstly, your notion of the Arctic Circle is false, less than %1 of the poppulation is dumb enough to be that far north. You realize of course that our own state capital is not connected by road.
But much of the industry we are talking about, that is critical to the American economy is in the rural areas. So, if let rural Alaskan effectively die off, it will also have very harmful effects on the production of oil/gas, zinc and lead, other metal ores, sea food and timber. If you can trust me on one thing, trust me that a healthy rural Alaska is much better for America.

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Abstinence Education at its finest:

If America depends on these resources, then it seems to me that the market should bear the cost for extracting them. I still fail to see how subsidizing oil helps in the long run.

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When they come a wull staun ma groon
Staun ma groon al nae be afraid
Thoughts awe hame tak awa ma fear
Sweat an bluid hide ma veil awe tears