Power outage plagues Western Alaska town for days

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – For weeks, many residents in Manokotak have been living in the dark and cold as a generator failure left them without power in the middle of winter.

In the days since, there has been uncertainty surrounding when the lights will come back on in the small Western Alaska community.

“We need [a] new generator big enough to run community with the school. Logistics is a challenge with bringing one in,” Manokotak Mayor Melvin Andrew said. ” [The] airport’s not suitable for aircraft big enough to haul it. Another option is bringing just a motor to run the current ‘big’ generator.”

Since Dec. 13, when a generator failure left the community without reliable electricity, the city has had to alternate power to homes by switching lines on a grid, but that has resulted in frequent blackouts, sometimes lasting all day or all night, according to Andrew.

During the first week of power issues, Andrew said many in the city had to use personal generators, while others had to seek shelter in the school, which has been turned into an emergency shelter and remains that way to date.

On Dec. 21, Manokotak passed an emergency ordinance declaring a disaster and requesting state assistance after the Alaska Energy Authority declared an emergency for Manokotak Power Company, owned and operated by Manokotak Natives, Ltd.,

State Rep. Bryce Edgmon, who represents most of Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula, said will help the community to approach outside entities for help.

“You’re looking at generators that are fairly aged as well, been around a long time. You’re looking at a community having to sort of suddenly pivot and sort of go into emergency shelter mode. That’s not easy to do,” Edgmon said.

As reported by the mayor, while the city waited for aid, they have had to endure frozen pipes, lack of heat, and an inability to cook or heat homes, especially in the newer housing units with electric ranges.

Andrew said city officials contacted the Bristol Bay Native Corporation and Bristol Bay Native Association for assistance on Dec. 22, agreeing to provide cots, blankets, food, milk, juice, and small propane bottles.

The city also started using local emergency management to check on the elderly and disabled and those known to have only electricity to heat and cook. Andrew said the community also faced challenges in getting reliable cell service on the same day.

Andrew reported that by Dec. 23, two loads of supplies donated by BBNC, BBNA Food Bank, and SAFE had arrived in the city.

Andrew also reported that the lights were still unstable, as the city tried to alternate power to homes with power in phases. A Facebook message stated that the school had counted 23 people taking shelter at the time and that community members had been donating food, coffee, and other items.

The mayor also reported that the city was preparing for a winter storm and would have to wait for the weather to lift for the initial supplies donated by BBNC, BBNA, and SAFE.

The city was dealing with plummeting temperatures and unstable power and had only one small generator for the community, alternating a three-phase grid, Andrew said. The school was running on its own generator, but on Dec. 27, the mayor reported that its lights had also gone out.

Manokotak residents received some good news when city officials received the initial supplies they had been waiting for, as reported by the mayor. On Dec. 28, a second set of supplies from BBNC, carrying food from Anchorage, was expected to be in the city over the New Year’s weekend.

“Red Cross sent 60 cots with blankets. NAC donated transport to Dillingham [Thursday]. Expect them in Manokotak on [Dec. 30],” Andrew wrote on Thursday.

With electricity remaining stable for 30 hours in the community, things were beginning to look up by the New Year’s weekend until Andrew received a message from Alyssa Apalayak, utility manager with the Manokotak Power Company.

“[We] have not-so-great news … one of the parts was the wrong size, but Moses is going to talk with Kyler from AEA. I asked him to call him to explain what is going on and maybe discuss what we need now,” Andrew wrote.

The mayor said city officials had to work with used parts with the uncertainty of how long they would last, another setback to what had already been a challenging ordeal.

Andrew reported Friday that the power had been on continuously for 48 hours.

While the mayor and Rep. Edgmon praised the community, city administrator Nancy George, and the regional local government specialist Cindy Roque for initiating the emergency ordinance request to the governor and banding together, the mayor says they are not out of the woods yet.

”My recommendation to them from here in Dillingham was that they look at this through the lens of sort of an immediate-term fix — which they of course are — but also a long-term fix that might involve barging up an entirely new generator or something like that, when the conditions allow for it later on this year,” Edgmon said. “And as a member of the Alaska legislature, that’s something that myself and Sen. Hoffman will be looking closely at providing that funding for.”

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