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Government spending freeze impacts Alaska
President Trump's pause on funding from federal government grants is impacting Cook Inlet transmission line and other energy projects in the state
Alan Bailey for Petroleum News
During a presentation to the Alaska House Energy Committee on Feb. 10, Curtis Thayer, executive director of the Alaska Energy Authority, confirmed that the current pause in federal funding associated with federal grants applies to funding assistance for the construction of a subsea electricity transmission line between the Kenai Peninsula and Beluga. The purpose of the line is to significantly increase the transmission capacity between the Kenai Peninsula and the Anchorage region, while also remediating the problem of the existing transmission line being a single point of failure in the transmission system.
The GRIP program The federal funding of $206.5 million came through the Department of Energy Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnership, or GRIP, program and requires matching funds. Using initial matching funds of $12.7 million from the state and $50 million in bond funding available from the Railbelt electric utilities, AEA has started work on the project.
Thayer told the committee that the funding had been appropriated and approved two years ago by Congress and President Biden, and that AEA has a signed grant agreement with the Department of Energy, enabling the project to proceed.
And, although the grant has been paused, DOE has reimbursed AEA for some costs already incurred. Moreover, in the interest of not missing a construction season for the project, AEA is continuing to move forward with the project using the matching funds that are available, Thayer said.
Thayer said that, especially given President Trump's stated awareness of the importance of infrastructure and transmission, he feels confident that the federal grant program will move forward again.
Other projects impacted Thayer also commented that $20 million in federal funding in support of three projects by Golden Valley Electric Association is also on hold. Thayer later told Petroleum News that a total of $504 million in grant funding that comes through AEA is impacted. And there are also other projects around Alaska that are not funded through AEA that are also impacted ' the funding associated with these projects may amount to as much as another $500 million, Thayer said.
Thayer re-iterated his confidence that this is a temporary pause in the funding. This type of pause in federal action is typical of what happens when a new federal administration comes into office, he said. And there is federal money coming in for work that has already been completed, he confirmed.
Although in general the federal funding has been paused, the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, or NEVI, funding program for installing high speed electric vehicle charging stations on the road system has been suspended rather than paused. Thayer commented that the implementation of this program has so far has proven disappointing, with only 52 charging stations being approved across the country.
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