(Fuel) Glass Half Full

While brainstorming ideas of what to put in this article my wife asked if there
was something positive to relate. It made me realize that although the path
ahead may not be easy there are many good people working together to meet
the challenges ahead. Top in the news and in my mind is the spike in cost of diesel fuel and gasoline. As tankers load up with fuel for western Alaska this month they
are being loaded at record breaking cost due to the war in Iran. This will be
a difficult year for all communities and especially for those that receive only
one or two summer fuel deliveries and are locked into the high price of fuel
for the next year. The cost of fuel affects the cost of everything from the cost
of electricity to a loaf of bread. Even if you don’t get your food at the store,
transportation fuel, to harvest fish, meat, greens and berries will be at a premium, not to mention heating fuel. Thankfully there are fuel vendors that have worked out new supply routes so that it appears deliveries will happen. State legislatures have heard the call and have moved to lessen the blow by increasing the appropriation for Power Cost Equalization to $56 million a 16% increase over last year and worked to raise the caps on the Bulk Fuel Revolving loan program to provide communities the ability to place fuel orders with greater confidence. On the federal level there is a strong coalition of legislators that continue to push for funding to maintain the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) at a time when many more families could benefit.
As AVEC braces for its most expensive year ever, not only due to the direct cost of fuel but also the way fuel cost insinuates itself into every airline ticket, every freight charge and every petroleum dependent consumer product, it leans on its long standing partnerships and the resilience of its members to persevere. AVEC has been fortunate in the past and continues to receive funds from the Denali Commission, US Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, State of Alaska and others to build resilient energy efficient infrastructure. The cost for which would otherwise have to be fully paid for through the rates of our members. And the Rural Utility Service Cooperative
Finance Corporation (CFC) is a valuable partner in providing loans to allow AVEC to continue to fund capital projects as we free up cash to meet the immediate operating costs for this season. AVEC member communities endure as they have for millennia, working together in difficult times to be sure everyone makes it through. AVEC’s voice is developed through the needs of its members, the governance of its directors and the input from its communities through their delegates. April’s annual meeting was a testament to the work and dedication of AVEC employees and the governing delegation to continue to forge a cooperative that provides safe reliable electricity regardless of the
challenge. AVEC’s voice is heard across the state and across the country; in the federal legislature and national energy labs, to help inform peoples thinking and help develop solutions for rural Alaska. This hit of high oil prices will have an outsized impact on rural Alaska this year and for years to come, but there are many good people working to lessen the blow.

(Published in June 2026)