Alaska Power and Telephone proposes to reduce the cost of what they admit would be “very expensive” electric power from Connelly Lake by selling electricity to summertime cruise ships in Skagway. If the underwater cable to Skagway fails, preventing transmission to Skagway, who will pay for this “very expensive” electricity?
If the cable doesn’t fail and AP&T sells Connelly-generated electricity to cruise ships all summer, will enough water remain in Connelly to supply Haines with electricity during the remaining eight months? If not, where will we get our electricity – via the existing underwater cable from Skagway?
It seems that if submarine cables are prone to failure, then Haines customers risk paying exorbitant power costs to develop Connelly. If such cables are not prone to failure, then use of such a cable should not be considered an impediment to developing Schubee Lake hydropower as a “fish-safe” alternative to Connelly.
Eric Holle