Dive Summary:

• Officials from the three largest electric utilities in southcentral Alaska have told their customers that their bills will be increasing anywhere from five to ten percent in 2013; an additional rate hike is also expected sometime in 2014.
• Several reasons were cited for the impending increases, including the construction of new facilities, replacing aging equipment, and recovering costs incurred in September storms.
• Alaskan electric companies have been anticipating a shortfall of supply, but expect their stockpiled energy to been depleted by the end of the winter.

From the article:

Almost all of Southcentral's electricity is generated by natural gas from wells within about 100 miles of Anchorage. Chugach, for example, gets 88 percent of its power from natural gas, with another 10 percent from hydroelectric projects and a tiny amount from wind.

The aging gas wells are in steep decline. It is estimated that locally produced gas will fall short of demand by at least 10 percent next year and as much as a third by 2014. ...