The month of April was when Aniak residents Amanda Hoeldt’s electric charge was $381.95. In May, the bill was higher than $1,100.
“We were very surprised by the cost of our electric bill, because the propane cooktop is in our home and we have a wood-burning fireplace,” Hoeldt said. “And, like, it’s April, June. Therefore, it’s not as if we’re in January when we have lights on constantly or, say operating either the heater or furnace, or similar things.”
At the school of Aniak the electric bill ranged from about $7,700 up to $24,000.
“Just sincere I’m in my district’s office right moment and the lights are out. Everyone is working in darkness,” said Madeline Aguillard as director for Kuspuk School District. Kuspuk School District.
Organizations and residents throughout Aniak were stunned when their electric bills tripled in May. The problem was that they weren’t notified in advance. The sole notice appeared on Aniak’s official Facebook page, which was created by Darlene Holmberg’s personal Facebook account. Aniak Light and Power company’s chief executive, Darlene Holmberg. She stated that, due to the price of fuel, bills would be raised by at least four times. The post was then deleted.
Holmberg has not returned numerous messages from KYUK and an email with a request for comments.
“I did not pay too much focus on it,” Hoeldt said. “Because it was just a status update on Facebook and I simply went about my day to day life. Then we were hit with an electric bill.”
In the midst of a community, as people were pondering the bills, some began using lanterns, while others did not pay. The people unplugged their devices and limited screen time. Some are contemplating changing their location.
Dave Diehl owns the Hound House, a local eatery located in a log cabin established in 1994. They have three refrigerators in operation and a big stove. They also have a small oven, dough mixer as well as an air fryer. He spoke about the region’s growing costs of electricity.
“Gasoline is about nine dollars per gallon here. Diesel fuel costs around nine dollars per gallon from here.” Diehl said.
He’s optimistic because the people are resilient. He also said that he wouldn’t make changes to prices until he needs to, however, he stated that this is the biggest obstacle they’ve encountered in their 30 years. At present, they’re not earning any money. If their power bill keeps rising at the current pace, they’ll have one choice.
“Close down, I guess,” Diehl said. “I don’t know. It’s not possible to just be doing nothing and earning only a couple of dollars per week.”
A total of 10 have reached out for help to Regulatory Commission for Alaska. the agency that oversees the public utilities of the state. Aniak Light & Power, as a private company as the only power supplier to the village of approximately 500 residents, was required to file a report with the commission before it could increase its rates.
Diehl as well as other residents attempted to find out more and then call the commission However, they were unable to do so due to regulations and calculations.
“The important thing is that you have to be educated. You need to be a real computer savvy in order to convey your message,” Diehl said.
The commission that regulates the industry suggested three reasons for why the cost went up considerably in May.
The main reason was due to an increase in fuel prices which jumped by 50 percent. Residents were unsure why their fuel costs increased by 400% and why other communities in the area hadn’t experienced similar increases.
Steven Jones, a spokesman for the commission, stated that rates for utilities can increase to reflect retroactively major costs.
“So at times it can be a hard for people to comprehend this isn’t a quick fix,” he said. “They claim, ‘hey this is a great deal. We should now be able to get a good deal. It’s because their utility is recouping the costs of an event that happened previously, in certain cases, the better price isn’t always the case.”
The other explanation is the fact that Aniak Light & Power anticipates sales to decrease over the coming months. The third reason is that Aniak Light and Power’s financials reveal an enormous gap between what it’s spending on and what it’s earning and it’s not easy to determine the reason.
The company’s financial crisis began in September, and was based on reports Aniak Light & Power provided to the commission following numerous requests during April.
The data also revealed that in 2023 the line loss for the company or power loss in distribution and transmission, which is the cost that customers pay for often exceeded the 12% limit that the state has recommended.
In the middle of April, Holmberg wrote a letter to the commission informing it that the company had found a gap between the stock of fuel it claimed have and the amount the actual inventory was.
The information is of no help to those who are who are struggling with the cost hikes. The biggest customers are Aniak restaurants, stores at the airport, the post office, and the school.
Aguillard Superintendent Aguillard declared that the current cost is not affordable in the budget draft for the coming year. Although it’s an important hub for the Kuspuk School District’s central hub, Aniak is just one of the nine schools that are located in seven villages.
“But we had estimated that we would set aside $380,000 for services,” Aguillard said. “However at a cost of $25,000 per person, Aniak alone will consume the entire amount.”
With this increase in cost She’s worried they’ll need to cut costs.
“It’s personnel. It’s the personnel who would be the ones to suffer,” Aguillard said. “And this is what we’re scared of. We’ve been working really, very hard to secure these posts. To maintain the few posts we’ve got.”
The school doesn’t offer arts or music classes but it has a basic curriculum and employs a tele-social specialist. Staff have already witnessed the enrollment drop and more families are considering moving.
The higher rates are impacting the class schedules for the summer. District officials issued a memo urging employees to switch their the lights off, and to disconnecting microwaves and other appliances when they are not in use.
“Like it’s a bit controlling,” Aguillard said. “But it is all in the sum and all of it is, well, at this point, it’s not cents per dollar. Are they dollars that turn off the light will impact?”
The power company doesn’t anticipate an increase in prices in the coming months. The commission has asked that the company provide periodic updates and urges customers to stay on top of the site of the commission.
There are some residents who don’t believe they’ll see many. Marcus Tanner says the latest complaint he’s filed to this commission marks his 4th.
“We have a past. In the year 2018, I was forced to leave the area since they basically pushed me from my house,” Tanner said. “And every winter I’ve been here, which is about 13 years ago there are people who pay ridiculously high costs. It’s randomly people.”
In the month of April, Tanner’s cost was increased from about 400 to $4,000.
“Went up ten times,”” Tanner said. “And one of the things that [an Aniak Light & Power representativestated was”Well, it’s going to cost more next month.'”
Tanner is hoping that something could change before he decides to go to Aniak.
