A year ago, the developers of the planned Puppy Dog lake solar farm in Nikiski signed a contract to sell solar power to Homer Electric Association (HEA) for less than the current cost of HEA's gas-generated power. The solar project was planned to meet about 12% of HEA's annual electrical needs, and would save Homer residents incrementally more...
It isn't much use now to debate how and why we ended up with the grotesque act of national self-harm known as HR1, aka “the Big Beautiful Bill.” The bill passed early this month with approval of Rep. Nick Begich III, Sen. Dan Sullivan, and a decisive yes vote from Sen. Lisa Murkowski. Here are some of the ways the bill will affect Inletkeeper's...
**PRESS RELEASE** New Report: Alaska Faces Nation’s Highest Energy Burden, Hitting Rural and Low-Income Communities Hardest Anchorage, AK - A new report, "Energy Burden in Alaska: Understanding Energy Burden for Alaska Communities and Charting a Path Forward," reveals that Alaska faces the most severe energy burden in the U.S., with rural and...
A collaboration between the University of Washington Center for Environmental Health Equity, Alaska Public Interest Research Group, Native Movement, and Cook Inletkeeper. Alaskans - especially low-income, rural, and Indigenous communities - face some of the highest energy burdens in the U.S., spending a disproportionate share of their income on...
Our two senators are well aware that "Alaska is different." But as Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan consider their stances on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, they should remember that the economic incentives shaping Alaska's energy infrastructure are, in fact, different – and not in ways that benefit their constituents. Energy burden is the...
The Su Dam isn't the way to energy independence – why is it coming up now? Electric cooperatives are run by leaders elected by their member-owners – that is, everyone who pays an electric bill. These boards are meant to vote on the direction of the co-op and to approve its major decisions. But when it comes to the highly consequential...
Thanks to our high latitude and the tilt of the Earth, Alaska has summer days when the sun barely sets and winters when it barely rises. As daylight stretches out, home solar owners are now entering their most productive time of the year. At the peak of summer, some solar homes can meet their entire monthly electrical demand with their panels....
The 2025 Homer Electric Association Board of Directors election is going on until April 30, but if you've been eagerly waiting for HEA to mail your ballot, stop waiting -- no paper ballot is coming in the mail. Instead of mailing physical ballots to members this year, HEA is emailing links to an online voting platform. Many of these ballot emails...
As members of electric co-ops, we have extraordinary power to shape our energy system. As Alaskans, we have extraordinary reasons to elect better leadership: complacent co-op directors are sleepwalking us into a costly and stagnant future. Between next month and April 2026, Homer Electric Association will rely on what is practically a Potemkin...
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...
