Juneau avalanche destroys 1.5 miles of powerline
from KINY...
Quote:
Gayle Wood of Alaska Electric Light and Power says it happened at about four this morning. (Wednesday)
She says it was hardly noticed, except by Thane Road residents, because of diesel generation they had running at the time and low load demands at that hour.
She says it was a massive avalanche about three miles from the Snettisham power house that took out about a mile and a half of transmission line. That includes damage to four to five towers, she says.
Wood says the community will be virtually reliant on diesel generated power for two to three months with the exception of power that can be generated through the Gold Creek, Salmon Creek and Annex Creek facilities.
The electric utility official says customers can expect to see some very high bills.
Residential rates were at 11 cents per kilowatt hour.
Wood initially estimated it would go to 30 to 35 cents, but has since revised that figure to 50 cents and adds that's a conservative figure.
Since the area is very unstable, Wood says they don't expect to start repairs for two to three weeks since they need to wait for avalanche danger to subside. She describes the terrain in the area as very steep. At this point, they're trying to assess the damage from the air.
Wood calls it the worst disaster they've ever had on the Snettisham line. She used the word "catastrophic" and called it "a hard hit."
Wood stressed the importance of conservation during this time. Right now, she says they're trying to figure out how to secure enough diesel to handle this kind of long term need.
many issues here: urban avalanche hazard in Juneau, Juneau Access Road, huge economic and social impact, a city of 30,000 totally reliant on deisel generators....
I've spent quite a bit of time in the air, on the water, and on the ground in the area of the avalanche - pretty rugged terrain.
