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Frame from "Nome Joint Utility System Board Meeting- Nov. 12, 2026" · Photo source
Nome power bills face a bigger fuel surcharge as utility board presses for overdue audits
Nome's fuel surcharge on power bills is likely to jump from 18 cents to close to 40 cents a kilowatt-hour after the largest fuel bond the utility has had, its manager told the Nome Joint Utility System board Thursday.
"So it's going to about double the kWh cost," board member Carl Knodel said. The manager agreed, noting the utility's tariff, or base rate, is close to 20 cents. He said the final surcharge will be calculated for the board's next meeting.
The utility took in 2,011,808 gallons of fuel this fall. The bond is $8.6 million, the manager said, and the total bill from supplier Crowley will be closer to $9 million. The utility has already paid $1.3 million from cash reserves.
Knodel asked how much less the oil would have cost if the utility had bought in July. The manager said it always buys in September and had locked in its price under a three-year contract, with only a tug fuel adjustment changing.
The state's Power Cost Equalization program, which lowers power bills for rural residential customers, will also pay more per kilowatt-hour once the new numbers are filed, the manager said.
The surcharge passes fuel costs through separately from the base rate. At an Oct. 13 Nome Common Council meeting, the manager said he believed the utility last raised its rates in 2005, and that the surcharge was set up when fuel cost 85 cents a gallon. On Thursday he said the utility needs a rate study in 2027, likely leading to a formula that recognizes part of inflation, like the one the Port of Nome uses.
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About Nome
Nome, known in Iñupiaq as Sitŋasuaq, is a city on the Seward Peninsula on the Bering Sea coast, in the Nome Census Area. It is the hub of the Bering Strait region and is known for its Gold Rush history, its gold dredging and the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
An elected city council, school board and utility board govern local affairs, deciding licenses, taxes and requests such as federal money for harbor dredging. Gold dredging and mining near the city, including the Graphite Creek project and dredge permits in Safety Sound, draw debate from tribes and residents. Hunting and fishing seasons in the region, from moose closures to Norton Sound salmon, are regular questions for local households.
Regional organizations such as Kawerak, Norton Sound Health Corporation and Bering Straits Native Corporation serve Nome and the surrounding villages, among them Koyuk, Gambell, Elim, Unalakleet and Shaktoolik. The Nome-Council Highway, damaged by coastal storms, is one of the roads leading out of the city.
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