Alaska State Legislature Joint Committee on Electric Utility Restructuring
Senator Bert Sharp, Co-Chair Senator Loren Leman Senator Robin Taylor Senator Al Adams 119 N Cushman #201 Fairbanks, AK 99701-2879 Phone: (907) 452-7885 Fax: (907) 456-4221		Rep. Norman Rokeberg, Co-Chair Rep. Alan Austerman Rep. Fred Dyson Rep. John Davies 716 W 4th Ave #640 Anchorage, AK 99501-2133 Phone: (907) 258-8191 Fax: (907) 258-2196

Electric Utility Restructuring Committee to Meet Thursday

Joint House-Senate Committee Will Study Implementation

For Immediate Release August 4, 1998 Contact: Rep. Norman Rokeberg at (907) 258-8191.

Anchorage -- Senator Bert Sharp (R-Fairbanks) and Representative Norman Rokeberg (R-Anchorage) will co-chair the first meeting of the Alaska Legislature’s Joint Committee on Electric Utility Restructuring, Thursday, August 6, 1998. The meeting will be held at the Anchorage Legislative Information Office (LIO) at 716 West 4th Avenue from 10 a.m. to 4:30 a.m.

Thursday’s meeting is the first of four interim meetings the committee will hold to formulate written recommendations for the next legislature on whether and how to implement electric utility restructuring in Alaska.

"This issue could impact everyone’s electrical bill. Competition, consumer choice, sale of retail electricity, and other issues are being debated as the partial deregulation of the electrical industry is reviewed by the Legislature," said Co-Chairman Representative Norman Rokeburg.

The committee will hear testimony from invited participants, including the Alaska Public Utilities Commission, Anchorage Municipal Light and Power, Chugach Electric Association, Golden Valley Electric Association, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Matanuska Electric Association, Alaska Rural Electric Cooperative Association, Aurora Power and a representative from Four Dam Pools. The public is welcome to attend.

The committee will take public testimony in a second meeting scheduled August 18, 1998, at the Anchorage LIO. A third meeting will be held in Fairbanks in September and a fourth meeting will be held in November.

In addition to Sharp and Rokeberg, committee members include Senators Robin Taylor (R-Wrangell), Al Adams (D-Kotzebue), and Loren Leman (R-Anchorage) and Representatives Alan Austerman (R-Kodiak), Fred Dyson (R-Eagle River), and John Davies (D-Fairbanks).

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