House Democratic legislators call for committee discussion on in-state gas issues
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 31, 2014
JUNEAU – House Democratic legislators are working with the House Resources Committee to make sure the Legislature does what it can to assure Alaskans get access to affordable gas for in-state use from the governor’s proposed liquefied natural gas project.
“When you ask Alaskans what they want from a gasline, affordable gas is one of the first things they say. Local gas is what heats our homes and powers our businesses,” said House Democratic Leader Chris Tuck (D-Anchorage). “The members of this committee know the importance of getting Alaska’s gas to Alaskans, so we’re looking forward to working with them to ensure the proposal in front of us does everything it should to get Alaskans the gas they need at a price they can afford.”
Tuck, and the Democratic members of the House Resources Committee, Representative Scott Kawasaki (D-Fairbanks) and Representative Geran Tarr (D-Anchorage) sent a letter to the co-chairs of the committee outlining some of the unanswered questions about how the gasline proposal addresses the issue of in-state gas. In their letter, the legislators raise the following question and outline their concerns about how the legislation and agreements address the issues:
• Who will supply gas for in-state use?
• Will the state be penalized for selling gas in-state?
• Can we assure in-state gas is affordable?
• Is the state bearing too much of the burden of supplying in-state gas?
• Can Cook Inlet producers benefit?
“In Fairbanks, access to affordable gas is the top priority,” said Kawasaki. “We have to do everything we can to get the best deal for Alaska when we pull gas out of the pipeline for local use. I look forward to getting the answers to these very important questions.”
“Getting affordable gas to Alaskans doesn’t just happen automatically,” said Tarr. “We have to be vigilant in making sure we structure this deal to make it happen, and I appreciate the co-chairs’ willingness to consider our request.”
Read the letter: http://akhouse.org/docs/032614_Feige-Saddler_In-State-Gas.pdf
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