With the current dry, warm weather conditions and high fire danger, Chugach Electric Association, Inc., is taking steps to mitigate wildfire risks in its service territory, some of which could lengthen power outage times.

Chugach is taking temporary measures to powerline operations in the Anchorage Bowl, Tyonek, and Northern Kenai Peninsula. Crews are stepping up tree clearing efforts in Anchorage and the Cooper Landing area as well as long as fire danger is high.

Chugach Electric Association, Inc. members elected two directors to the utility’s seven-member board of directors. Election results were announced Friday night, May 20, at the electric cooperative’s annual meeting. The meeting, held at ChangePoint in Anchorage, was the first in-person annual meeting since 2019. There were 284 members who registered at the meeting and an estimated 400 in attendance overall.

Chugach members re-elected Rachel Morse and elected Sisi Cooper in this year’s election. Cooper previously served on the board of directors from 2012-2018.

Six Alaska utilities announced the formation of a working group to assess future gas supply needs and energy security in Cook Inlet. The group was formed in recognition of the expected decline of aging Cook Inlet assets; and in conjunction with recent discussions with Hilcorp Alaska, LLC, as well as the potential impacts of recently-introduced clean energy legislation.  

The Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) approved Chugach’s proposed tariff for an electric vehicle (EV) Direct Current (DC) fast charging rate. The approved rate removes the demand charge barrier to DC fast chargers which should encourage the construction of DC fast charging stations and the use of electric vehicles by Chugach members.

The Chugach Electric Association Board of Directors has named Arthur Miller Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Chugach. Miller has been with Chugach for nearly 32 years, most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Regulatory and External Affairs. In that role, Miller is responsible for Regulatory Affairs, Member Services, Key Accounts, and Business Development.

The Chugach Electric Board of Directors announced today it is not moving forward with employing Hal Halpern as the electric cooperative’s new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The Chugach Board announced last month it was hiring Halpern to replace CEO Lee Thibert.

Thibert announced last summer he is retiring at the end of April 2022. The board has not yet announced its plans for finding a new CEO.

Chugach Electric Association, a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative and Alaska's largest electric utility, announced today that Hal Halpern has been named as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 11, 2022. With over 15 years of C-suite experience, Halpern joins Chugach from Cooperative Light & Power in Minnesota, where he served over three years as CEO. In his new role, Halpern will oversee the development of Chugach’s utility strategies and business growth.

Several companies responded to Chugach Electric Association’s recent request for proposals (RFP) for renewable energy projects that can be built and integrated into the Chugach system at no additional cost to ratepayers. The member-owned electric cooperative issued the RFP in October 2021 and received responses from numerous companies representing five technologies. The technologies include wind, solar, hydroelectric, tidal, and energy storage.