Time for a Change
If you haven’t heard the news, MEA fuel costs
are going up 30% by 2028.
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As far as I’m concerned, this isn’t just another hole in our pockets. It’s a betrayal of all our potential for
a great local energy economy here.
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I’m Connie Fredenberg and my love for Palmer started as the farm manager at our very own Musk Ox Farm 30 years ago. I love working at the farm so much that I built a home right next door and serve today as the Vice President.
But I’ve also worked 21 years with Alaska’s independent community-owned electric utilities,
teaching utility management, installing electric meters, and crafting business models in some of the toughest parts of our state.
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To see runaway costs of this size at my home MEA hitting my kids’ livelihoods is too much for this mother to take. We no longer have time for inaction at MEA. We need real decisions and investments now.
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Frontline Energy Experience
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For 20+ years, I helped communities across Alaska create their own local energy solutions to reduce imports.
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MEA is getting punished by high costs because we're at the mercy of a single monopoly supplier with a dwindling resource.
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If the communities I served in the Arctic could get it done,
we can too.
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A Future for Our Kids
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Every day, my lineman grandson goes to work in some pretty tough conditions to keep the lights on.
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He - and all my kids and grandkids - deserves better than runaway bills when he goes home.
You do too.
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We owe it to our kids to protect affordable living here, create new local jobs, and grow cleaner options for our air, land, and water.
Reliablity for Members and Lineworkers
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This winter’s wind storms across the Matanuska Valley showed how critical reliability is.
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When outages last longer, repairs are harder and more dangerous for lineworkers.
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Reliability also starts at the meter, through inclusive investments like smart meters that instantly report outages, weather-hardening service drops, and voluntary programs that help members reduce peak use during storms.
What we can do.
MEA is getting hammered by rising gas costs and depleting Cook Inlet resources that we just can’t control. It’s a situation I know well. The cost and headache of importing fuel to the interior and arctic communities I served was agonizing.
I helped several communities develop their own local diverse resources so they had lower cost options that freed them from imports. If the Arctic can get it done, this MEA board has few excuses left. Right now, other Alaska co-ops are pursuing affordable hydroelectric projects right here in our service territory to lower their costs while our board sits on its hands.
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I’m asking for your vote in this MEA election to get to work on lowering fuel costs with sensible local energy projects. Every energy source has its strengths and shortcomings, and making the most of all our abundant local resources is the only way we’ll bring down costs. It’s time to stop throwing good money after faraway bad and build more here at home.
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MEA Voting is online and starts early April in your SmartHub.
If you prefer a mail ballot, call 907-761-9300 by March 13 to request one.
Voting closes April 28th at the MEA Annual Meeting, 6:00PM at Glenn Massay Theater.
Thank you for believing in our co-op and being a voter. Please reach out to me if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas for our MEA future. Connie@ConnieForMEA.com
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