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For immediate release
June 16, 2011 at 3:43pm
For more information, contact
Phil Steyer, 762-4766 (desk), 242-1417 (cell)

Chugach board votes to approve Fire Island power purchase agreement

Chugach will purchase the energy from the wind project to be built by Fire Island Wind, LLC. Fire Island Wind, LLC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cook Inlet Region Inc. formed to develop and sell the energy from the Fire Island Wind Project. The installation will consist of 11 General Electric 1.6xle wind turbines.

The power purchase agreement calls for Chugach to receive approximately 48,500 megawatt-hours per year of energy at a flat net price of $97 per megawatt-hour for 25 years, beginning Jan. 1, 2013. Chugach agreed to buy the energy at a price of $107.85 per MWh, and Fire Island Wind, LLC agreed to pay a System Integration Charge equal to $10.85 per MWh (including curtailment) for the life of the project to help integrate the energy into the system.

Initial Fire Island Wind, LLC estimates of the energy output of the project puts annual production at about 4 percent of the utility's retail sales in 2010.

The power purchase agreement approved by the board was the conclusion of negotiations between Chugach and CIRI that began in the summer of 2010. The agreement will need to be approved by the board of directors of CIRI and the Regulatory Commission of Alaska before the deal is complete.

Chugach has posted the term sheet and other information about the Fire Island wind project at its website, www.chugachelectric.com.

Chugach is the largest electric utility in Alaska, providing power for Alaskans throughout the Railbelt through retail, wholesale and economy energy sales.