(Juneau) - Despite the outbreak of war a number of Alaskan Legislators made the annual pilgrimage to Washington D.C. this past week to attend the quarterly Energy Council meetings. Sen. Scott Ogan (R-Chugiak/Rural Mat-Su) who led the Alaska Senate delegation said it was important for him to go in spite of the war.

"I felt strongly that the conference should carry on despite perceived security threats in D.C.," said Ogan. "We can not stop addressing important national issues because of threats, that simply means the terrorists have won."

The Energy Council is a group of energy producing states and international affiliates that meets annually in the Nation's capital to discuss and lobby on energy issues. During this most recent meeting Sen. Ogan was elected vice-chair of the council and will become the council's chairman in September.

"As chairman I will be responsible for setting the agenda for the Energy Council meetings. This of course is very important to Alaska as we continue to face major hurdles on issue such as ANWR and a natural gas pipeline," said Ogan. "As chairman many doors will be opened to me that otherwise might not have been."

Ogan said that during these meetings the Energy Council has the opportunity to meet and discuss major energy issues with high-level members of the Federal government. Discussion he said has noticeably opened eyes and helped federal policy setters understand issues from an Alaskan perspective.

# # #