Matanuska Electric Association

Windstorm gusts hit 70 mph south of Eagle River, cutting power to over 13,500 MEA members

Gusts up to 70 mph knocked out power to more than 13,500 MEA members from Eagle River to Willow early Friday. About 4,800 were still out at noon.

by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min read

ENSTAR asks regulators to fast-track a deal to borrow MEA's gas for this winter

ENSTAR wants to borrow 1.2 billion cubic feet of MEA's gas for this winter and return it by 2028. Customers would pay the costs, minus a credit on return.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readFrom Oct 21

Anchorage weighs Eklutna water deals after utilities decline to back its bid for a vote

Anchorage tied its Eklutna water deals to Chugach and MEA backing its bid for a hydro vote. They declined, and the mayor wants the deals approved without it.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Railbelt-wide unified dispatch likely needs legislation, REAP analyst says

Running the Railbelt's power plants as one system would save money, a REAP analyst says, but it probably takes a policy push to make it happen.

by Melinda Communities.News3w ago2 min read

Anchorage sets Oct. 28 open house on Eklutna pumped storage options

Anchorage holds an open house Oct. 28 on two dam designs for Eklutna Lake, where the city gets 90 percent of its drinking water and faces a 2027 deadline on pumped storage.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

MEA bills drop about $5 a month, giving back part of summer increase

MEA power bills drop about $5 a month starting Thursday. Good news, sort of: it gives back a little over a third of the increase that hit in July.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Follows: Mat-Su power bills climb about $15 a month, with more increases expected

Seward survey respondents favor a local cooperative to run the city's electric utility

Most Seward survey takers want a local co-op to run the city's electric utility. The math hinges on a hydro project Chugach Electric also wants.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago3 min read

MEA lays out how rolling outages would work if Southcentral runs short of gas this winter

MEA's plan if the gas runs short: nine groups, 30 to 45 minutes dark apiece, turns every few hours. Step six of six, and the co-op hopes to never get there.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min read

MEA seeks new power supply as its Hilcorp gas contract winds down

MEA is shopping for new power supply before its Hilcorp gas contract ends in 2029, and asking members how they feel about data centers arriving.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

MEA surveys members on potential data center development

MEA is polling members about data centers while the state weighs handing 20,000 acres in its territory to AIDEA for a plan that lists data centers.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Scammers posing as MEA are threatening Mat-Su members with shutoffs

Scammers posing as MEA are calling members, some with their account numbers, threatening to cut the power. MEA says hang up and call 907-761-9300.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 10

Mat-Su power bills climb about $15 a month, with more increases expected

Mat-Su electric bills rose about $14.50 a month this quarter as power costs climbed, and the co-op expects about 5% annual increases for three years.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

MEA is holding $451,000 in refunds for members it can't find

Matanuska Electric is sitting on more than $451,000 it owes members it can't find — one of them is owed about $15,000. Checking takes a phone call.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 1

Matanuska Electric posts its list of $451,000 in unclaimed capital credits

Matanuska Electric says more than $451,000 in capital credits sit unclaimed by current and former members, with one owed roughly $15,000.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 1

Matanuska Electric's next CEO inherits a gas contract that expires in 2029 and years of rising bills

Clay Koplin takes over as Matanuska Electric CEO on Jan. 7, 2027, as the cooperative braces for rising natural gas costs that could push member bills up 5% yearly for three years.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Enstar tells legislators it's 18 days short of gas for winter

Enstar told legislators it's 18 days, about 3 Bcf, short of gas for a normal winter after two supplies fell through, with deals underway still leaving a gap.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

More Mat-Su families are paying at the door to keep their power on, as their co-op runs ahead of budget

More Mat-Su families are paying at the door to keep their power on — nearly $472,000 this year — even as their co-op runs $4.9 million ahead of budget.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Matanuska Electric goes on taproom tour as members absorb rising rates and a looming gas cliff

MEA's CEO is hitting the taprooms to meet members — right as they absorb a rate hike, brace for 5%-a-year increases, and face a 2029 gas cliff.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Enstar tells Alaska Gas Line Caucus it could be 18 days short of gas this winter

Enstar told lawmakers it could run 18 days short of gas this winter if Cook Inlet supply stays low, but the Alaska LNG pipeline pitched to fix the problem won't arrive in time to help.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Utility warns of rolling blackouts in Southcentral as soon as this winter

At a Municipality of Anchorage press conference last week, MEA's CEO warned that Southcentral could see rolling blackouts as soon as November if Cook Inlet gas falls short — the first time in 45 years he says he can't guarantee power.

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read

Mat-Su power bills climb as Alaska's energy squeeze bites

Mat-Su electric bills are rising about $14.53 a month — driven by a cold spring, low hydro, and new Hilcorp gas-storage fees, a snapshot of Southcentral's tight energy supply.

by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read

Matanuska Electric offers free EV chargers to local businesses, but hosts pay install costs

MEA is giving away EV chargers to Mat-Su hosts — but only the box is free; the host pays to install it, and the co-op pockets three years of charging data.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read

When the electric co-op sprays herbicide near your well, what are you owed?

MEA's spraying herbicide near Knik-Goose Bay. Alaska's strict notice rules cover only government land — so near your private well, what you're owed is mostly MEA's call.

by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read

Matanuska Electric wants members to go renewable without a rooftop, but it hasn't said what it costs

Matanuska Electric wants you to go renewable without the rooftop. What it'll cost, and whether non-subscribers help pay, is the part nobody's said yet.

by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read

MEA is building a 40-acre substation in Meadow Lakes for Mat-Su's growing grid

Mat-Su is getting a 40-acre substation in Meadow Lakes — major infrastructure for the fastest-growing Alaska region. Take that, Anchorage!

by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read