Allure of the Railbelt Energy Fund.

• Position: Alaska legislators propose new appropriations

Allure of the Railbelt Energy Fund

The Railbelt Energy Fund, originally established by Alaska legislators to support energy projects in the state's Railbelt - a corridor stretching from the Kenai Peninsula to Fairbanks - has proven to be a cookie jar in the state's leaner years. Many hands are reaching for the $230 million in funds.

Sen. Jan Faiks (R-Anchorage) proposed last year that the fund be repealed all together and the multi-million-dollar balance be transferred to the general fund. Among suggestions from other legislators are using the money for recreational or educational facilities, road construction, harbor and dock maintenance projects, stream rehabilitation, historical preservation and tourist-related projects.

In the 1989 legislative session, nearly 20 bills were submitted advocating use of the Railbelt Energy Fund. In this second session of the 16th Legislature, those bills remain alive and new fund-related bills have been introduced. Several lawmakers continue to argue that the fund's monies should be preserved for energy projects in the Railbelt.

In the mid-'70s, awash in oil revenues, the state began a program to develop energy sources for future demands in Alaska. One objective was harnessing the vast energy available through hydroelectric projects. In the 1980 and 1981 legislative sessions, nearly $1 billion was appropriated to 10 such projects.

Of this money, $124.7 million was allocated for a study of the proposed Susitna Hydroelectric Project. In subsequent legislative sessions, additional appropriations for construction of the project increased Susitnatagged monies to $300 million. But in 1985, the Alaska Power Authority, the agency responsible for hydroelectric project development, canceled plans for a Susitna plant because of financing problems.

To ensure money set aside for the Susitna project would be used for energy development in the Railbelt, legislators from the region sought to stash the funds for future use. They succeeded in establishing the $285 million Railbelt Energy Fund in 1986.

Presently, the electrical needs of communities along the Railbelt are served by a scattering of interconnected power plants. Supporters of plans to tie these sources together with new, more powerful and upgraded transmission lines say the present system is not strong enough to accommodate the growing electrical requirements of Alaska's Railbelt region.

When the fund was formed, the legislature created the Railbelt Energy...