Second intertie is a boondoggle with high costs, dubious benefits

While cutting education, the House legislators moved $27 million from the general fund into the Railbelt Energy Rind to support a second southern intertie.

The additional southern intertie is an economic loser. The truth is, the intertie is a $120 million boondoggle with only $60 million in benefits. Do the math! For every dollar invested, 50 cents is lost. And the proposed $70 million of public funds spent on the southern intertie will result in only 60 cents a month of savings on your utility bill.

The utilities claim the construction of this extra intertie will improve reliability. How much better will it be? Why won't they tell us?

The utilities claim this project will generate jobs. But $60 million to install the underwater cable will go straight to an outside contractor. So much for Alaska jobs.

We should invest public funds in educating our children, not in bogus utility projects. Utilities can fund projects within their own rate structure. If you're looking for funding to restore the education cuts, killing the southern intertie would be a good place to start. And let's get our priorities straight and change the Railbelt Energy Fund into the Alaska Education Endowment Fund.

Phil Kaluza
Anchorage