The Alaska House Finance Committee is seen on Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska lawmakers are considering whether to ask voters for permission to borrow money for major upgrades to the state’s electrical grids, they said this week.
Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy awarded the Alaska Energy Authority a $206 million grant to upgrade electrical transmission lines in Southcentral Alaska. That grant must be matched by state dollars, and on Thursday, AEA’s board voted to spend $20 million in borrowed money on part of the match.
That still leaves the state on the hook for more than $180 million. One possible solution is what’s known as a statewide general-obligation bond, which would have to be approved by voters in a statewide vote this fall. When a government issues a general-obligation bond, it pledges to use all available revenue to pay off the bond. Voters haven’t been confronted with a borrowing issue since 2012 .
“I’m a big fan of that idea of a GO bond,” said Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel, R-Anchorage. “I think it’s time to invest in the state. And this transmission grid is critical to our future. So I’m a fan.”