WHEREAS, Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) is an Alaska Native tribal health and social services consortium established by the Interior Alaska tribes and tribal communities, to provide a unified voice in advancing sovereign tribal governments through the promotion of physical and mental wellness, education, socioeconomic development and culture of the Interior Alaska Native; and
WHEREAS, Tanana Chiefs Conference currently works closely with interior electric utilities on an as needed basis assisting with maintenance on engines, power cost equalization reporting and utility infrastructure issues for utilities that operate for the benefit of tribal members; and
WHEREAS, the cost of diesel in our communities has been extremely volatile over the past decade. In interior villages, diesel is responsible for 100% of the electric generation, this has led our local governments to look for ways of diversifying the fuel supply through the addition of renewable energy. As our electrical generation systems have become more complicated, many small utilities not served by a larger electrical cooperative need additional engineering support to facilitate integrating renewable energy onto our grid and to assist us with maintenance and operating guidelines for our utility; and
WHEREAS, we believe that by working with Tanana Chiefs Conference and developing an Inter-Tribal electric utility or cooperative many of our smaller utilities will be able to streamline utility operations, increase reliability, decreasing electric rates, integrate renewables and improve the quality of service to tribal members served by stand-alone rural utilities; We understand this will not preclude any individual tribe from applying for any Federal funding.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 37 federally recognized tribes which makeup the Tanana Chiefs Conference authorize and direct Tanana Chiefs Conference (TCC) to act as the Tribal Energy Resource Development Organization (TERDO) for our tribes and to participate in the Indian Country Energy and Infrastructure Working Group (ICEWG); and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we direct TCC to apply for funding under the FY19 BIA Tribal Energy Development Capacity Grant (TEDC) to form an inter-tribal electric utility or cooperative that communities will have the option of joining, with the goals of: improving electric service in our village, improving our access to renewable energy, reducing our reliance on expensive and volatile diesel electricity and making our communities a more resilient and sustainable place to live and work
Submitted by: Chief Rhonda Pitka, Beaver
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