Due to a collaboration between Chugach Electric and JL Properties, you can now charge an electric vehicle (EV) while shopping or dining at a development in South Anchorage. The equipment became active recently at the complex that houses South Restaurant, Mountain View Sports and other businesses near Old Seward Highway and O’Malley Road.

The installation was completed with financial assistance from Chugach as part of a research project to gather information about the use of publicly available chargers. JL Properties manages the development with the new charging equipment. Initially there will be no charge to use the charging station, though that may change in the future. 

This is the second such facility funded by the program, following Alyeska Resort’s installation of charging equipment last fall. Two additional businesses in the Anchorage Bowl are planning to complete their charging sites later this year. The installations are for Level 2 charging equipment with universal connectors. An hour of charging can add 25-30 miles of driving range to the batteries of electric vehicles. {210677}

On the app and website for PlugShare, one of the common ways electric vehicle drivers find places to recharge, the new site is listed as “South Anchorage Mall.” 

Chugach’s power plant, the Southcentral Power Project, underwent an important inspection in April. The three LM6000 aeroderivative gas turbines, generators, and boilers were inspected as part of a routine program of upkeep and maintenance.

Borescope inspections are done twice a year to assess the condition of blades, vanes, fuel nozzles and other parts without opening up the turbine completely. Chugach is considered a critical infrastructure business for purposes of the COVID-19 pandemic and was able to carry out the April inspection with special permission granted from the State of Alaska. Enhanced health and safety precautions were utilized to keep Chugach employees and the inspector separate and safe.

Chugach is moving about a mile of transmission line adjacent to the Placer River as part of a road improvement project. The State Department of Transportation (DOT) is smoothing out the radius of the curve and putting in a new bridge over the Placer River. The work runs from Milepost 78 to 79 on the Seward Highway. 

Working with contractor Northern Powerline Constructors (NPC), Chugach will move the transmission line that is currently next to the road, relocating it away from the roadway. The work includes installing four new structures and modifying three additional structures. Although the road project is scheduled for this summer, Chugach’s work is being done in March as the area is wetlands and there is significantly less environmental impact when the area is frozen. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) has issued a permit to Chugach for the project. 

While the job is underway, there will be intermittent road closers managed by NPC. To ensure safety, Chugach will advise USFS and a variety of stakeholder groups of the work being done to minimize any interactions between those working on the transmission line project and those recreating in the area.

A project is underway to replace the lighting at the Beluga Power Plant with more-efficient LED lighting. Beluga personnel are conducting the relamping of the plant, machine shop, warehouse, and mechanic shop buildings.

As the plant was approaching end-of-lifecycle lighting needs, the Beluga employees took the initiative to calculate the energy savings from replacing existing lighting with LED lights. The project is expected to have a payback period of about 1.6 years. The new LED bulbs are more efficient, using approximately 80 percent less power than the older fixtures. In addition to lower costs, the new lighting also provides better overall illumination, enhancing visibility, and providing a safer work environment at Beluga.