AVEC weighs higher electric rates in Bethel, Yakutat and 50-plus villages

Electric bills would rise in Bethel, Yakutat and more than 50 other rural Alaska communities under tariff changes the Alaska Village Electric Cooperative Board of Directors is considering. AVEC says the proposed non-fuel rate increase averages 4.75%.

The proposal would change customer, energy and demand charges in every rate class and every service area. If the board approves it, the new rates would apply to electric service used on or after Nov. 1, 2026. The notice says specific proposed changes for Bethel, Yakutat and all other locations are attached to it, but those rate tables were not included in the text of the notice reviewed for this article.

The cooperative's notice attributes the increase to higher operating costs for materials, labor, transportation and freight. The adjustments are designed to meet revenue requirements, provide a positive operating margin and satisfy debt covenants with AVEC's primary lender, the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation, according to the notice. AVEC said the changes bring rates into closer alignment with costs.

The affected communities span the western coast and the rivers feeding it, from Kotlik and Emmonak on the lower Yukon to Kivalina, Shishmaref, Noatak and Selawik in the northwest, plus Togiak, New Stuyahok, Old Harbor, Minto and Huslia. Bethel and Yakutat carry their own rate schedules. No AVEC member or customer response to the proposal was available. The account of the increase comes from the cooperative's own notice.

This is not the first such increase. In a February 2024 post explaining that year's tariff changes, AVEC said it "continues to control costs and strives to keep rates low but a rate increase is necessary so we can continue to pay our bills and maintain a positive margin." At the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in May, AVEC's William Stamm said the cooperative's cost of service last year was $74 million, and that "the cost of fuel is more than half of our total cost of generation and distribution." Fuel costs move through a separate mechanism, the Cost of Power Adjustment, filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska. Alaska News has previously covered how rural electricity costs run three to five times urban rates.

The public hearing is scheduled for Sept. 9 at 10 a.m., held by telephone. Management will explain the increase, and members may ask questions and make statements before the board votes to approve, disapprove or modify the rates. Members who want to weigh in on the proposal before that vote can find the rate tables, hearing agenda and call-in details through AVEC's office or website.