Southcentral Alaska’s largest natural gas utility said Tuesday it might not have the gas to make it through this winter. That’s after state regulators last Wednesday denied Enstar’s request that would’ve expanded natural gas storage in Kenai, as the region faces a looming natural gas shortage.

Enstar president John Sims said it’s “not looking good” for the utility’s more than 150,000 Southcentral customers heading into the cold, winter months.

“Just to be very blunt, we need additional production in order to make it through this winter,” Sims said. “We are kind of turning over every stone possible and trying to find more gas resources.”

In the order, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska wrote they were “unsure about the timing of the need for additional natural gas storage capacity, including insertion and withdrawal capacity.”

Enstar proposed developing and operating a depleted reservoir known as the Kenai Loop Pool that is currently leased and operated by AIX Energy, LLC., to store gas to use during the colder months.

The utility was seeking an “advanced determination” from RCA that it was prudent, which would allow the project to unlock financing for development, the order says. In its original filing, Enstar said that the project would help ensure there are enough supplies to meet the needs of its customers.

A search for other options

The commission denied the utility’s request in a 17-page order last Wednesday, saying the Department of Natural Resources hadn’t determined if the facility was capable of serving as a gas storage facility. Hilcorp has a competing application for the same storage facility, the order said.

The RCA didn’t respond to a request for comment Tuesday afternoon.

The facility would hold 25 billion cubic feet of gas, which Sims said is appropriately sized for the current supply needs and future natural gas imports.

“The other benefit of having this storage facility right now is we can go to Furie, AIX, to all the small producers and even Hilcorp and say, ‘Hey, whatever volume of gas you produce, I can buy it.’ And I can store that into this storage facility for later use,” he said.

Longer term, utilities are looking to import natural gas, which would impose an unavoidable price increase to thousands of households and businesses. Legislators are currently in negotiations over a multibillion-dollar property tax break for the developer of the Alaska LNG project, Glenfarne. But it’s unknown if, or when, that project will be built.

According to the order, Enstar’s Kenai storage project garnered support from DNR, multiple state legislators and other regional electric utilities. However, some Anchorage-based property management companies said it was “inappropriate” for ratepayers to bear the cost of the project. The project’s $240 million price tag would’ve increased bills for customers by $10 to $12 per month, according to the filing.

Sims said Enstar is filing a petition for the reconsideration of the ruling next week.

“Just in case the commission denies that request, yes, we are looking at other storage options,” he said. “Unfortunately, based on our analysis that we did before we filed with the commission, those options appear to be more expensive.”

Sims said he’s hoping production and storage ramps up, but if it doesn’t, he said the utility may need to ask customers this winter to conserve supplies by lowering their thermostats.

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This story was originally published by Alaska Public Media and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested Shucheng “Charlie” Yang, 32, a Chinese national and attorney with the Alaska Department of Law, on July 10 in Anchorage, according to an ICE spokesperson.

ICE said Yang violated the terms of his admission and is a “deportable alien.”

He is currently being held at the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington, pending immigration proceedings.

Yang pled no contest to a speeding ticket he was cited for on May 22. There are no other charges against him listed in the Alaska court system.

Yang is the most recent person in Alaska to be taken into ICE custody at the Tacoma processing center; a Mexican woman living in Soldotna was deported along with her three children in February.

His arrest also comes days after a Colombian man was shot and killed by a federal immigration officer earlier this week in Maine, fueling a new wave of protests against perceived ICE brutality.

State outlines hiring process

The Alaska Department of Administration responded to general questions about verifying employment eligibility for all full-time hires and said the state requires applicants to self-disclose their employment eligibility during the application process.

“The State of Alaska hires individuals who have the legal right to work in the United States,” Policy Advisor Kate Sheehan said. “This employment eligibility is confirmed through the federally mandated I-9 verification process.”

Yang is listed as Department of Law civil attorney on the State of Alaska employee directory.

Agencies decline to comment on Yang

Both the Alaska Department of Law and the Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy declined to address Yang’s employment status or arrest.

“As a practice, the Department of Law does not provide comments on personnel issues,” Information Officer Sam Curtis said.

“We do not comment on personnel issues,” Deputy Press Secretary Grant Robinson said.

Alaska’s News Source is reaching out to Yang through multiple channels while he remains detained in Tacoma.

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – The National Science Foundation has selected the University of Alaska Fairbanks to be the site of a new critical minerals research program, making it one of 12 new technology innovation centers across the nation that received federal funding, according to Yereth Rosen with the Alaska Beacon.

The new Critical Minerals Accelerator Engine in Alaska will receive $15 million in funding for two years and up to $160 million over 10 years, the university said on Tuesday.

The organization will be located at and led by UAF’s Geophysical Institute and will work with more than 40 partners, said Steve Masterman, the university faculty member who helped lead the application for the award. Partners include private companies, Native corporations, nonprofits, other universities and other entities, said Masterman, who formerly served as Alaska’s state geologist.

UAF already conducts scientific research into minerals considered critical to the nation’s economy through its Critical Minerals Collaborative. That program is more scientific and academic-focused, said Masterman, who is its deputy director.

In contrast, the Critical Minerals Accelerator Engine will be focused on putting research to use, determining ways to commercialize resources, addressing supply needs, workforce development and other issues important to the critical minerals industry.

Though the scientific research already conducted at UAF will be helpful, the accelerator idea is industry-focused, Masterman said.

“This is quite different because it’s an economic development project,” he said.

Alaska is rich in resources considered critical minerals. The state has 56 of the 60 minerals classified by the U.S. Geological Survey as critical to the nation’s economy, UAF said in its statement.

In addition to the Alaska award, the NSF on Tuesday announced its awards for other innovation engines in different parts of the nation. The sites have different primary purposes, such as disaster prevention and mitigation, robotics development and development of advanced information technologies.

The Alaska innovation engine will be led by Lee Ann Munk, a faculty member at the Geophysical Institute and a geosciences professor at UAF’s College of Natural Science and Mathematics. Munk is currently director of the Critical Minerals Collaborative at UAF.

“Our NSF Engine is built on the simple but ambitious idea that Alaska can lead the nation not only with the abundance of its critical mineral resources, but also in how we innovate, develop and deploy the technologies needed to produce them responsibly,” Munk said in a statement released by the university.

“By bringing together researchers, Alaska Native organizations, industry, workforce partners, state and federal agencies, national laboratories and communities, we are creating an engine that accelerates discovery into action,” she said.

Editor’s note: This story was republished with permission from the Alaska Beacon.

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