Regulators let Alaska Power Company waive reconnection charges after natural disasters

State regulators on Thursday approved a change letting Alaska Power Company waive reconnection fees and monthly charges for customers whose service was cut off by a natural disaster. It takes effect Nov. 5.

Right now, getting the power back can come with a bill for the months it was off.

A home or small business that reconnects at the same address within 10 months pays a reconnection charge, plus the monthly customer charge for the whole time it was disconnected. Large and industrial customers that reconnect within 12 months owe the reconnection charge plus the demand and customer charges, known as the minimum bill, for those months.

The change approved by the Regulatory Commission of Alaska lets the company waive those charges when a natural disaster caused the disconnection, according to the commission's approval letter. It covers residential, small commercial and large customers.

The company may ask for documentation showing a customer qualifies. It already has to keep a record of every disconnection, including the reason, for two years.

Alaska Power Company is the electric arm of Alaska Power & Telephone, which serves rural communities where power costs more than almost anywhere else in the state. Federal energy data put its average price at 32.8 cents a kilowatt-hour in 2023, against 17.6 cents for Chugach Electric customers in Anchorage.