HI, I'M PETER.
I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.
The Kenai has given our family a safe harbor to call home and build our dreams for so many decades. In 1988, we launched a family commercial fishing business that I'm proud to say my sons have taken over today.
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Public service is part of how we can all give back, and it was the honor of a lifetime to serve as your Deputy Director of the Alaska Energy Authority, capping a 20 year energy career where I got to bring hydro, sun, wind, and other projects to life across our state.
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Homer Electric Association, our member-owned and self-governed cooperative for over 75 years,
has worked hard to ensure that our energy is both reliable and affordable. But our energy picture
has slowly changed over the years. Supply of Cook Inlet natural gas to our power plants, which
has provided over 88% of our energy for decades, is dwindling. In 2022, gas producer Hilcorp
announced that it could not renew natural gas contracts past the year 2033. Plans are underway to
import liquified natural gas (LNG) from overseas to provide power and heating fuel, subjecting us
to volatile world markets, increased prices and less local control.
Meanwhile, the potential for using our other local, abundant energy sources like sun, wind, and
hydro has grown as technologies have advanced and become less expensive. Development
continues on other potential resources like tidal and geothermal. Our Homer Electric board already
made the wise decision to invest in a large battery system in Soldotna that can help integrate
intermittent, zero-fuel-cost wind and solar into our system.
I’m asking for your vote for some practical steps to reduce our dependency on high cost imports.
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PUT
EVERYTHING
TO WORK
Faraway gas, whether from across the ocean or a north shore pipeline that would cost consumers tens of billions to build, won’t bring down prices anytime soon. We have abundant, local energy sources in the Railbelt -- sun, wind, and hydro -- working just fine now and saving us money.
Let’s make more power from our own wind, water and sun to balance the mix—not put all our eggs in one expensive basket.
These sources keep our energy dollars here at home, creating jobs and income. Partnered with batteries, they let us store power when its cheapest for when gas prices spike or storms threaten our transmission lines.
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GET TRANSPARENT
& PROACTIVE
Right now, a member can attend an HEA Board Meeting and still learn little about what’s happening, thanks to so much executive session. That’s not how my team at the Kachemak Ski Club made good decisions about trails and it’s not how my team at the Energy Authority made decisions about $200M in energy projects. Transparency makes us smarter and stronger. Proactivity means that we stop leaving options for members to save off the table. I want to see HEA bring practical options for energy efficiency to our doorsteps.
A PROMISE TO YOUR FAMILY
Energy projects can be complicated, take a long time, and require vision, compromise, and a background in economics. I’m running for the Homer Electric Board because I think I can use my knowledge and experience to contribute to this cooperative.
If elected, I will devote my energy to:
· Delivering reliable and affordable power to HEA ratepayers.
· Keeping future costs down by harnessing our abundant, local energy sources where cost-effective and sensible.
· Being transparent and responsive to the HEA ratepayers I serve.
