One month from now, on March 28, everyone who pays an electric bill on the western Kenai Peninsula will get their ballots to elect leaders for the Homer Electric Association (HEA). You will hold in your hands (or on your phone/computer, if you vote online) a chance to shape our energy and climate future. Use it wisely!
HEA is led by nine elected directors representing three districts. I summarized its current state in a recent blog post, but the short version is that complacent members of the board’s current majority have dragged their feet for years on adding renewable alternatives, forcing us into the desperate resort of depending on an interruptible gas contract for our electricity.
The good news is that we’ve discovered a brand new way to generate renewable energy: from the ENTHUSIASM of volunteers. Here’s how to convert your enthusiasm into the clean, local energy we need:
Get in touch with Inletkeeper’s energy campaigners. In the Homer area, reach out to Indianna Turkisher, and in the Kenai, Soldotna, and Nikiski areas, connect with Ben Boettger. Discuss the various ways you can support a pro-renewable candidate, including:
Hosting a candidate meet-and-greet with your friends, where all of you can learn together about what our energy system needs.
Joining our Saturday canvassing events to talk to your neighbors about the election. After ballots drop March 28, we’ll be hosting canvassing events every Saturday in April until the election’s conclusion on May 1.
Joining other volunteers for a phone banking session. There will be pizza, to fuel the ENTHUSIASM.
Inletkeeper is endorsing these three HEA candidates to bring a better direction to our co-op’s board:
In Kenai and Nikiski (District 1): Patrick Parker. After growing up in Sterling, Patrick has made a tech career for himself as a web developer and IT professional. His interest and ENTHUSIASM for new energy technologies will make him a great HEA board member.
In Soldotna and Sterling (District 2): Mitch Michaud. A retired forester, a long-serving member of many Central Peninsula boards and organizations, a former interim director of the Kenai Watershed Forum, and a very ENTHUSIASTIC Inletkeeper volunteer, Mitch has our support.
In the peninsula south of the Kasilof River (District 3): Erin McKittrick. For the past six years, Erin has been a renewable champion on the HEA board, defending net metering from proposals that would make it uneconomic, spinning up an incentive program for heat pumps, reporting to members about meetings, and generally serving with incredible care, intelligence, and ENTHUSIASM.
In the early days of electricity, rural Americans came together to secure the benefits of electrification for themselves by creating rural electric co-ops such as HEA. Today, these local, democratic institutions are our best chance to steer our energy future. This spring is your opportunity to continue the tradition of local self-determination by voting for a good HEA board member.