Even Anchorage’s Democrat-backed mayor says Alaska’s energy crisis demands action now

By SUZANNE DOWNING

July 29, 2026 – Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance joined Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries and two of Southcentral Alaska’s top utility executives Tuesday to deliver an increasingly unavoidable message to state lawmakers: Alaska is running out of affordable Cook Inlet natural gas, and the Legislature must stop delaying a long-term solution.

LaFrance is registered nonpartisan, but she ran for state House as a Democrat in 2020 and was backed by the Anchorage Democratic Party, organized labor, Planned Parenthood and other progressive groups during her campaign for mayor.

Her decision to publicly call for decisive action on Alaska LNG shows that Southcentral Alaska’s energy problem has grown too serious to remain confined to the usual partisan divisions.

“Anchorage residents, businesses and public services depend on reliable, affordable energy,” LaFrance said during a joint news conference at Anchorage City Hall. “The declining supply of Cook Inlet natural gas and rising costs are a direct concern for our community, particularly as we prepare for the winter months.”

LaFrance said local governments and utilities are working to manage the immediate risks, but short-term preparations will not solve the underlying problem.

“Alaska also needs decisive action on Alaska LNG and other long-term solutions to protect our residents and support our economy,” she said.

Joining LaFrance were DeVries, ENSTAR Natural Gas Company President John Sims and Matanuska Electric Association CEO Tony Izzo. Together, they represent communities and utilities serving hundreds of thousands of Alaskans who depend on natural gas to heat their homes and generate electricity.

Their warning came as the Alaska Legislature remains mired in another special session over proposed tax terms for the Alaska LNG project. Lawmakers have repeatedly failed to reach agreement on legislation intended to establish predictable construction-phase tax treatment for the massive North Slope gas pipeline.

The House previously passed a clean version of the gasline legislation. The Senate added several unrelated provisions, including a new corporate income tax aimed at certain pass-through businesses. The House rejected the resulting package, and Gov. Mike Dunleavy called lawmakers back to Juneau once again.

The latest session opened with technical meetings and no quorum. The Senate has indicated that it does not intend to meet again until Aug. 10.

While legislators wait, utility executives say the Cook Inlet shortage is no longer a hypothetical problem looming somewhere in the distant future.

Sims said Hilcorp is drilling 27 wells this year to satisfy its existing contractual commitments, while the next-largest producer is drilling only two.

“We need activity in the Cook Inlet, and that’s what we are not seeing,” Sims said. “And we are not seeing that because it’s no longer viable to do so.”

Cook Inlet production has supplied Southcentral Alaska with relatively inexpensive natural gas for decades. That gas heats Anchorage homes, powers electric utilities across the Railbelt and supports hospitals, schools, military installations and businesses.

But the basin’s legacy fields are declining, and utilities have warned for years that existing supplies will not be adequate to meet demand later this decade.

The near-term alternative is likely imported liquefied natural gas. That would require Alaska—one of the most energy-rich places in the world—to purchase foreign gas, transport it across the ocean and unload it in Cook Inlet.

Sims warned that imported LNG could raise customer rates by 50% and potentially as much as 100% after 2030. Imports may not be available before 2029, leaving utilities to manage a narrowing supply window in the meantime.

The possibility of rolling blackouts during an especially cold winter is also no longer being dismissed as alarmism. Natural gas availability affects both household heating and electrical generation, meaning a supply failure could ripple across nearly every essential service in Southcentral Alaska.

For Sims, only one proposal has the potential to reverse the long-term rise in energy costs.

“There is one project that will reduce the price of energy in the next ten years. That is the Alaska LNG project,” he said. “There are no other options that we can have that will have the potential to reduce the price of energy.”

Alaska LNG would move North Slope natural gas through a pipeline extending roughly 800 miles to Southcentral Alaska, with gas available for in-state consumers and additional supplies shipped to overseas markets from an export terminal at Nikiski.

The project would not solve the immediate Cook Inlet shortage because construction would take years. But supporters say every additional delay makes the eventual transition more expensive and leaves Alaska dependent on costly imported gas for longer.

“We have to have the ability to look down the highway, as opposed to the stop signs directly in front of us,” Sims said. “That has been Alaska’s problem for far too long.”

DeVries said Alaska LNG would give Mat-Su residents and the rest of the state an opportunity to strengthen the economy, improve energy security and create jobs and investment for future generations.

Izzo said Alaska’s current predicament is particularly frustrating because the state possesses enormous energy resources.

“Despite living in one of the most energy-rich states in the country, Alaskans have faced decades of unnecessary energy uncertainty,” he said. “The result is higher energy costs and increasing risks to the reliability of our energy supply.”

Izzo called on policymakers to break the pattern of short-term decision-making and take clear action toward a dependable energy future.

The news conference placed new pressure on the Democrat-dominated legislative majorities. Lawmakers can no longer easily portray support for Alaska LNG as merely a priority of Dunleavy or legislative Republicans.

Anchorage’s Democrat-backed mayor is now standing beside conservative Mat-Su leadership and utility executives to say the same thing: The supply is declining, the costs are rising and the state is running out of time.