While we were in the building, House Energy held a hearing on multiple priority bills of ours: annual net metering and plug-in solar. Annual net metering would unlock private investment in our grid by incentivizing homeowners to install solar. At a time when federal incentives have been rolled back, the state has an opportunity to ensure new distributed energy comes online with a fair and predictable payoff period for homeowners.

This piece by Erin McKittrick shows the minimal impact that annual net metering would have on our utilities, and we also advocate for utilities to take steps to support low-income ratepayers in other ways.

Plug-In Solar is a technology popular in other parts of the world that allows anyone to purchase a small, portable solar unit and plug it into their home to offset some of their electricity use. A bill allowing for the adoption of this technology passed unanimously in Utah last year, and Alaska now has a bill with bipartisan cosponsors in the legislature.

We also continued to advocate for common-sense changes to our election process that would protect the right to vote, like ballot curing. This would give voters a chance to fix their ballot if it is rejected, rather than losing their chance to participate.

As the legislative session continues, we know that the lack of revenue in our state will be a primary focus. We continue to believe that by taxing all oil and gas companies at meaningful levels, we can invest in our communities and meet Alaska’s Constitutional requirement to get the maximum benefit from our resources.

Want to make your voice heard this session? Sign up to volunteer here, and we’ll reach out about testifying at key hearings.

For a thriving Alaska,

The Alaska Center