The Energy Star website has a cool calculator that can help you do the math. Make sure you put in our local electric rate of $0.22 per kilowatt-hour.

Here are the annual electricity cost calculations for a few refrigerators with freezers on top (19.0 to 21.4 cubic-feet):

It was cheap, but how much does it cost to plug in?

• 1990-1992. Annual cost: $283
• 1993-2000. Annual cost: $189
• 2001-2008. Annual cost: $118

If you have a refrigerator that dates back to 1992, it might be worth your while to ditch it – or at least to upgrade to a more efficient model. An Energy Star qualified refrigerator today will cost about $90 annually in electricity. How long would it take you to recuperate the costs of purchasing a new refrigerator? Less than five years; see below:

1992 fridge

Initial cost: $25 at a garage sale (or maybe you moved the old fridge from the kitchen and it was free.) Regardless of how cheap it was, it’s still costing you a lot.

5 years of electricity to operate it: $1,415

Total: $1,440

New fridge (Energy Star)

Initial cost: $674

5 years of electricity to operate it: $450

Total: $1,124

When shopping for a new fridge, keep in mind that top and bottom freezer models use 10 to 25% less electricity than side-by-side models (energystar.gov). Also, generally the smaller the fridge, the less energy it consumes.

Safety notice: Several fires have resulted from trees falling into the lines. If you see a tree in the line, stay back and call GVEA at 452-1151.

We appreciate your patience as crews work to restore power in the following areas:  Chena Hot Springs Road, Birch Hill, College Road, Trianon Drive, Delta and Goldmine Trail.

Update at 6:25 p.m.: Power has been restored to most locations. If you are still experiencing an outage, please give Golden Valley dispatchers a call at 452-1151.

First, the construction of a plant and more than 500 miles of power line from the North Slope to Fairbanks would be a huge capital cost. Second, who’s to say we would always get power from that plant? What would happen if the line went down or the plant tripped? Reliability at 40 below is a big deal. In order to maintain reliability, GVEA would have to maintain local generation in the Fairbanks area just in case – and this would not cheap considering we would have to pay for the upkeep and personnel to staff it.

Right now, there are other options that make more sense economically and provide more reliable power – see GVEA’s three-step plan.

On a side note, we don’t believe gas that gas is being wastefully flared at the North Slope. There is no free product up there – just like anywhere else; we would have to pay for it.

As residents of Interior Alaska know well, energy costs are high. Board member Ron Bergh said “We have heard you loud and clear – you want lower electric rates. And we are working hard to hold the line on costs.” Specifically, GVEA is trying to lower its biggest annual cost: oil. Here is the cooperative’s three-step plan to kick the oil habit:

1. Bring the Eva Creek Wind project online this fall
2. Restart the Healy Clean Coal Plant
3. Truck liquefied natural gas from the North Slope to the Interior

In addition to energy projects, CEO Brian Newton encouraged energy conservation at home and in the workplace. “We burn less oil when our members use less power,” he said.

A total of 37 members participated in member comments.

For the third year in a row, the co-op gave away a used vehicle. Julie Fairchild was the winner of a 1997 Ford single-cab pickup truck.

Here are other drawing winners from this year’s meeting:

• $250 Safeway gift card from IBEW – James Gates and Patrick Bouling
• Gift baskets donated by co-ops: Faith Flood, Marty Mirando, Jim Perry and Christy Shaw
• $250 – Martin Ott, Lorraine Phillips, Elsie Rieck, Charlotte Wilbur
• $500 – Kyle Gronewold and Arlene Ranstead
• $1,000 – Brad Nussbaumer

The meeting attracted a record breaking member attendance of 2,024. That’s an increase of more than 400 from last year.

A couple more fun facts: 3,400 cookies and 2,000 cups of popcorn were consumed.

If you see a tree resting on a power line, contact GVEA immediately.

It sounds corny, but it’s true. The electricity traveling in our power lines seeks the easiest and shortest path to the ground – don’t make yourself the path. If a tree falls into the power line – stay away. Don’t touch it. It could easily be charged.

Just last week, a Fairbanks resident was clearing a lot and knocked a tree into a power line. He attempted to remove the tree himself and was shocked. Thankfully, he’s ok, but others have not been so lucky. Some of you might remember the local woman who died five years ago in May from a similar tree-related incident.

If you do fell a tree into a power line, don’t risk your life; call GVEA immediately: 452-1151. You can expect to pay anywhere from $500 or more depending on the time of day and distance to the location.

Why take the risk? If you are planning to cut down a tree near a power line, try one of these better options:

• Call GVEA. Ask for the power to be temporarily disconnected at your location. This is FREE of charge provided it takes place during business hours.
• Hire a licensed and bonded contractor to remove the tree for you. It’s not cheap, but it’s certainly less expensive than cutting a tree into an energized line.

The Siberian crabapple is pictured in a Fairbanks yard.

This year marks our 22nd annual FREE tree giveaway in celebration of Arbor Day.

We’re giving away 2,000 crabapple – Siberian and Selkirk varieties – and 1,000 Amur maple trees. The Selkirk crabapple is a zone 3 tree and should be planted at a higher elevation than the Siberian. For the best results, plant these trees in the sun.

• 3,500 watts / 1,000 watts = 3.5 kilowatts (3 kW)
• 3.5 kW X 1 hour = 3.5 kWh
• One kWh costs about $0.215
• $0.215 X 3.5 kW = $0.75

This means that it costs about $0.75 every morning to run your dryer for an hour. One month would run your electric bill up $21.08.

Of course there are alternatives to dryers, but they aren’t always as convenient. For example, a good drying rack can be picked up at many local retailers for between $25 and $50. While you’ll have to wait longer for dry clothes, you won’t be using any electricity.

Another tip: Always keep the lint screen clean. A full lint screen causes the dryer to work harder therefore using more energy.

• Meeting Alaska’s Renewable Energy Pledge of 50 percent of the state’s energy coming from renewables by 2025 is important.
• Following FERC’s detailed schedule and keeping the project moving without further delays is also a concern.

If Susitna could help our state exceed its renewable energy pledge and provide long-term, stable energy, why the opposition? Here are a few of the more common arguments:

• Cost. The estimated price tag of this dam is $3 to $6 billion, including Intertie transmission upgrades. Since no utility could back that price tag on its own, the state would need to step in with assistance money. Some argue it would be better to dole out that money to Alaskans to help pay bills in the short-term.
• We don’t need more power; we need to be more efficient. Some argue that efficiency alone could save from 75 to 150 MW of power making the Susitna project unnecessary.
• Salmon migration would be interrupted.
• Construction of the dam including access to the reservoir would be detrimental to the area wildlife (caribou herds for example).

The fact that these concerns warrant investigation is one of the reasons this project, or any major project, seems to take longer than necessary to get off the ground. Realistically, given rising oil prices, the Susitna dam is one of our best long-term bets for lowering electric rates here in the Interior.

What are your thoughts?

Mark your calendars:
• Wednesday, April 25 – GVEA Annual Members’ Meeting
• Saturday, May 19 – Annual Arbor Day Free Tree Giveaway

Children enjoyed the safety demo at last year’s annual meeting.

This year’s annual meeting is right around the corner. Here are three reasons you won’t want to miss it:

1. Your opportunity to recycle household batteries for FREE. Green Star will be on-site collecting them.
2. $25 registration bonus choices (credit to your bill, contribution to SNAP or Good¢ents, LED light bulb)
3. Bucket truck rides

BONUS: Get the scoop on Eva Creek Wind and find out what we’re doing to get natural gas to the Interior.

We’ve received many questions lately about GVEA’s Annual Arbor Day Free Tree Giveaway. This year, we’ll be giving away 2,000 crabapple – Siberian and Selkirk variety – and 1,000 maple trees. The giveaway is May 19 starting at 9 a.m. in our Fairbanks parking lot. Limited supplies of trees will also be available at our Nenana and Delta locations on Friday.