Vision Fairbanks
STEAM HEAT COSTS COULD DOUBLE DOWNTOWN
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska gave notice on August 19th that Aurora Energy filed a petition to deregulate its steam business to bring steam heat rates in-line with those paid by hot water customers. Earlier this year, Aurora filed a ‘tariff action’ with the RCA requesting the same thing, but that request was not approved because the RCA determined that a request for deregulation must be submitted in the form of a petition instead of a tariff action.
If deregulation is approved, the rate charged for steam heat could eventually double. According to Aurora Energy, a doubling of steam rates to match the rates for hot water would still be lower than the cost of heat using oil or natural gas. Steam heat rates have not been adjusted for over twenty five years.
The comment period on Aurora’s petition closes September 20. If you have an interest in energy costs downtown, use this sample DOC or sample PDF to start your comment to the Regulatory Commission. Mail your comments to both Aurora Energy and the Regulatory Commission. For more information, call Buki Wright at Aurora Energy at 452-8767; and visit the RCA’s page devoted to docket U-10-058.
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