Bristol Bay Native Corporation

Bristol Bay Native Corporation BBNC , the Alaska Native Corporation That Represents More Than 11,000 Native Shareholders Who Are From or Have Ancestral Ties to the Bristol Bay Region of Alaska, Is Requesting 496,112 From the Tedc Program for the Project Electric Utility Collaboration Developing Capacity Amongst Small Microgrids in Bristol Bay This Project Will Develop Capacity Around Operations and Maintenance of Bristol Bay Utilities and Ready Those Utilities for a Transition Towards Renewable Energy Integration This Will Be Accomplished Through Targeted Capacity Building by Specialized Contracted Support for Three to Five Communities in the Bristol Bay Region Daniel Cheyette, Senior VP of Lands and Natural Resources at BBNC Is the Designated Tribal Project Lead the Proposed Project Builds on Tedc Funded Phase One Work, Which Studied the Impact and Potential Opportunities for Cost Savings by Creating a Collaborative Approach to Managing These Small Independent Utilities the Rural Village Electric Utilities in Bristol Bay Are Extremely Small, Typically Islanded Microgrids That Operate Independently and Rely on Imported Diesel Fuel That Must Be Shipped or Flown in Utilities Are Experiencing Shared Challenges, Including Aging Infrastructure Expensive and Imported Fuel Purchases With Challenging Delivery Schedules a Limited Skilled Local Workforce Reliance on Imported Expertise and a Lack of Structure to Effectively Operate and Maintain Both the Business Side and the Infrastructure Side of a Power Utility the Result Is Energy Costs That Are Exceedingly Highoften Five or Even Eight Times the National Averagein a Region With Very Low Incomes Phase One of This Project Brought Together Regional Partners in an Energy Steering Committee to Study and Ultimately Conceptualize a Regional Organization to Support Utilities Specifically, the Bristol Bay Energy Steering Committee Steering Committee Recommended a Second Phase of Our Work That Forms a Regional Utility Collaborative to Support Utilities Throughout the Region the Steering Committee Came to This Conclusion After Reviewing Baseline Data for Utilities Across the Region That Suggested Cost Saving Opportunities Exist for Many Utilities Through Improved Bookkeeping, More Regular Regulatory Reporting, and by Appropriately Adjusting Rates Further, the Steering Committee Recognized There Are Huge Opportunities to Improve Utility Performance Through Standardizing Operations and Preventative Maintenance and Conducting Detailed Planning for Longer Term Infrastructure Improvements With a Planned Transition to Integrating Renewable Energy the Steering Committees Phase One Work Demonstrated That, Through Collaboration, Capacity Development, and Sharing of Services, the Small and Isolated Utilities Could Realize Meaningful Cost Savings, Improve Infrastructure, and Move Towards a Future With High Penetration Renewable Integration the Objectives of This Project Are to Work Collaboratively With Three to Five Communities in the Region to Develop Standard Business, Management, Operations and Maintenance Procedures for Their Small Electric Utilities Build Local Workforce Capacity, and Conduct an Infrastructure Assessment That Becomes a Roadmap for the Capital Projects Necessary to Integrate Renewable Energy Alternatives Into Their Utility Infrastructures the Outcomes Include Realize Immediate Cost Savings Develop Local Capacity to More Effectively and Efficiently Manage Small Independent Utilities Increase Collaboration Amongst Utilities in the Region to Realize Economies of Scale, Share Resources, and Build Inter Utility Support Develop an Infrastructure Improvement Plan That Will Turn Into Funded Projects and Begin a Long Term, Transition Towards Renewable Energy That Will Increase Energy Independence and Resilience