An excerpt from today's Juneau Empire (online):
Electricity bills likely to increase by 500 percent following avalanche
Story last updated at 4/16/2008 - 4:02 pm
Juneau’s electricity rates are likely to quintuple as the result of an avalanche early this morning that cut all hydroelectric power to the area, according to an Alaska Electric Light & Power spokeswoman.
Juneau is now running on diesel generators at Auke Bay and Lemon Creek, said Gayle Wood, director of consumer affairs.
One transmission tower is down and four damaged on the Snettisham line, which connects hydroelectric power from the Snettisham lakes to the service area.
Outages were limited to the Thane area this morning because the power load transferred to the diesel generators that were already running.
Wood said it would be two to three weeks before workers could safely begin repairing the line, and that hydro power wouldn’t be restored for at least three months.
For more, see Thursday’s Empire.
