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Council ponders AKBC intertie coalition

Petersburg City councilors were uncertain this week about getting involved with a newly proposed energy group called the Alaska-Canada coalition. Wrangell officials are trying to form the coalition to advocate for an electrical intertie between southeast Alaska and British Columbia. The city of Petersburg has endorsed the concept of an intertie to Canada several times in the past. However, the council has placed a higher priority on first connecting communities within southeast Alaska.The issue came up at Petersburg’s council meeting this week.

Council starts manager search, buys land

The search for a new City Manager should soon get underway in Petersburg. The City Council directed staff to begin the effort Monday night. In another matter, the council decided buy several downtown lots adjacent to the municipal building. Matt Lichtenstein has more on those issues and other news from this weeks regular council meeting.

Council drops 2nd pipeline repair phase

Repairs to Petersburg’s Cabin Creek water pipeline are wrapping up. The city council voted to forgo the second phase of the project Monday night. According to city staff, the first phase has solved the flow problems and they say eliminating the additional work will save over 235 thousand dollars.

Angoon picked first in FERC drawing

The City of Angoon has a slight edge on developing a hydropower
project at Ruth Lake in Southeast Alaska.
Three cities, including Angoon, Petersburg, and Wrangell, filed applications for a preliminary permit with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. One of the items FERC considers when choosing a permit winner is who filed first – but FERC officials said all three applications were received at the same time because they were filed electronically on the first day possible. So, Wednesday morning in Washington, FERC’s Secretary of the
Commission, Kimberly Bose, drew a name at random.
The City of Angoon was drawn first, then the City of Petersburg, and finally, the City of Wrangell. FERC’s Deputy Associate General Counsel for Energy Projects, John Katz, says this does not mean Angoon has won the permit itself. According to Katz, Ferc first considers the merits the applications – whether any of the three is better adapted to developing the water way in the public interest. So, Katz said, the drawing was “a back-up in the event the commission is not able to make that determination.”
Katz could not yet say when it will determine who has won the
preliminary permit. And, he said, that permit is only the first step
in developing a project. It allows a person to investigate a projects feasibility and location. The three-year, exclusive permit also gives the holder a priority in applying for a development license from FERC.
FERC regulates non-federal hydroelectric projects all around the
country. This was the first time the Commission ever had to break a
tie. It expects to do so more often in the future due to the increase
in electronic filings.
In the audio included with this story, FERC Deputy Associate General Counsel John Katz explains how the Commission will use the drawing result.

Hydro permit drawing will be tie breaker, if needed

The federal agency that regulates hydro electric power plants says it will consider the merits of three competing applications for a hydro plant in Thomas Bay north of Petersburg. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last month announced a first-of-its-kind random drawing to determine which of three preliminary permit applications from Petersburg, Wrangell and Angoon will be considered filed first. However, commission staff say the first-filed designation could be used as a tie breaker in determining which of the three communities is awarded a preliminary permit for the Ruth Lake project.