Chugach Electric Association Inc. on July 15 entered into a power pool agreement with Matanuska Electric Association Inc., or MEA, to complete Chugach's proposed acquisition of Anchorage Municipal Light & Power Inc., or ML&P.
As a condition of its approval of the acquisition, the Regulatory Commission of Alaska, or RCA, included a requirement that Chugach and MEA execute and file a tight power pool agreement 45 days before closing the acquisition.
ML&P and Chugach serve different parts of the city of Anchorage, while MEA serves north Anchorage.
The power pool agreement is a 20-year wholesale energy and power contract which will effectuate a tight power pool between Chugach and MEA. The agreement will be implemented on an interim or permanent basis, subject to approvals by the commission and the boards of both companies and the closing of the transaction, Chugach said in a Form 8-K filing.
Both parties will begin testing joint dispatch of generation and transmission resources under their direct control, within the first six months, to meet the energy and spinning reserve needs of their two service areas in the most cost efficient manner, irrespective of resource ownership.
The RCA conditionally approved the acquisition of the city-owned utility by Chugach on May 28. More than 65% of Anchorage's voters approved the transaction in April 2018.