June. The utility’s Interior Alaska gas distribution system continues to expand with the LNG storage capacity it now has available. About 200 new gas service lines were installed in 2020; 312 in 2021; and 635 in 2022. In 2023, 535 new service lines were installed, with 405 in Fairbanks and 130 in North Pole. Four miles of main line in the distribution system were also built. The plan for 2024 is for 600 lines, and as of March 31 there were 227 applications received for new service lines in 2024, according to the report filed with AIDEA. Expansion of natural gas service in the Fairbanks area is important in reducing winter air pollution and created by particulates from burning heating oil and particularly wood. Gas is cleaner-burning and will help the community meet goals for cleaner air required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. IGU and a previous small private gas utility have operated for years in Fairbanks with LNG trucked north on the Parks Highway from the small gas li quefaction plant in the MatSu, north of Anchorage. Hilcorp Energy has supplied gas for that plant as well, but from the company’s Cook Inlet producing fields. However, the pending decline in gas from Cook Inlet has caused the IGU to switch its gas supply source from the Inlet to the North Slope, where there are very large proven gas resources. The Mat-Su plant will be maintained on standby as a contingency, IGU said. The idea of trucking LNG from the slope is not new. A few years ago, an LNG plant and trucking operation were considered for Fairbanks but there were concerns for costs of the proposal and the reliability of trucking the fuel on the Dalton Highway, so the project was not pursued. What changed this was Hilcorp’s determination that it can no longer meet long-term gas supply contracts from Cook Inlet to utilities in the region including IGU in Fairbanks. This caused the Interior utility to change its position and work with Hilcorp to bring North Slope gas, known as LNG, to the Fairbanks area. — Tim Bradner www.AlaskaAlliance.com 23
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