Railbelt power tariff is drafted in closed subcommittee meetings

The RTO, created by a law signed July 31, 2024, is meant to replace wheeling fees. Those are what utilities pay to move power across each other's lines.

Its Tariff Subcommittee meets Thursday, Sept. 3, hosted by the Alaska Energy Authority. Under RTO bylaws, open meeting provisions do not apply to subcommittees. By statute the RTO is a division of that authority, and its governance committee adopted those bylaws.

It filed its tariff on July 1, 2025, which the RCA suspended for investigation that August. The commission's deadline to rule, June 4, has passed without a public decision. The filing would grandfather 11 existing transmission agreements, including Bradley Lake and the Northern Intertie, indefinitely.

The Alaska Energy Transparency Project, an advocacy group, contends the tariff would not lower total costs, only shift who pays.

The commission's proceeding remains public: docket U-25-028, where a 2025 order opened a second comment period.