Alaska’s Railbelt explained in short videos and in-depth podcast.

REAP Operations Director, Greg Stiegel, sat down with REAP Executive Director, Chris Rose, to take a closer look at the electric grid that runs between Homer and Fairbanks, known as the “Railbelt.” Why? After decades of work, the recently signed into law SB 123 will require the creation of a new entity that will finally make tangible steps to unify the Railbelt Grid utilities. But in order to understand this new legislation, we first need to understand the history of the region.

Watch the series of short videos below or take a deeper dive by listening to Episode 6 & 7 of REAP’s Renewable Radio Podcast.

Renewable Radio Podcast

Listen to the two-part series on Alaska’s Railbelt Electric Grid.

  • Episode 6 – Part I gives background info on the Railbelt, explains why grid reform is important, and introduces SB 123.
  • Episode 7 – Part II covers the rule making process that the Regulatory Commission of Alaska is currently undergoing related to the passing of SB 123. 
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1. How much electricity do the Railbelt utilities generate? 

2. Why are there six different utilities? 

3. What’s the problem with the utilities acting independently? 

4. How long has it taken to institute grid reform policies? 

5. How has the current system increased electric rates? 

Learn more about the new Electric Reliability Organization:

August 18th, 2020

Electric Reliability OrganizationRailbeltState Policy