Throughout the regulatory process, our staff and volunteers have spoken up for an inclusive and accessible program that supports some of our most vulnerable community members. Our comments have made a real difference in shaping and improving the current regulatory framework. For instance, an early draft of regulations would have restricted community energy facilities to a capacity of only 10% of energy requirements of the subscribers. But because so many Alaskans spoke out, that restriction was revised.

This week, The Alaska Center submitted a final set of comments to the RCA, encouraging it to increase the cap utilities can set on CEFs. The current regulations allow utilities to set a limit of five megawatts on CEFs, or even lower if they justify their reasoning to the RCA. To better address Alaskans’ energy needs and maximize cost savings, utilities should have a higher overall floor for CEFs. In our comments, we also advocated for advancing the deadline for utilities to turn in tariffs — essentially a plan for how they will deploy and run CEFs locally. Expediting this date will help ensure that developers can take advantage of the 2026 building season, potentially capture tax credits before they expire, and bring needed projects online quickly.

Thank you to one of our amazing community volunteers, Anissa, for helping us with outreach to make sure everyone’s input was heard on this final draft. Over 35 community members submitted comments that helped shape these regulations.