Pinching Pennies for fuel!

Right now, here in Alaska, gasoline prices have soared! Just as our tourist season starts (which many Alaskans depend on the tourist's buying power to make a living) our already highly priced gasoline has reached new levels...

I find it strange that they never seem to lower but a few pennies after being hiked up 30-40-60-80 cents.. Then they just continually add 5-10-15 cents over a couple of months period...

Gas prices where I live range from $4.25 to $4.50 a gallon...That may seem high to some but in the villages in this state, gasoline prices have soared to over 6 bucks a gallon. Our heating fuel costs are $4.65 a gallon...

Totally unreal for a place that's pumping billions of gallons of oil out of the ground and refining it right here! Soon many will have to leave the state because they cannot afford to live here...

Alaska is known for taking care of it's own, but even with the yearly dividend it's citizens receive, it's not enough to put a dent in the staggering cost of fuel... and other energy costs...and the prices skyrocketing on food and essentials because of said fuel prices...so my question is...will this get past the Legislature?

If you click on http://www.ktva.com/ci_9287302 it will direct you to an article written by Andrea Gusty, a CBS 11 News Reporter.
Titled: "Energy relief plan for Alaska
1.2 billion dollar plan stirs controversy"

The plan is basically reduce the energy cost impact on Alaskans. Which would be a hundred dollars a month on a Energy rebate cards.

More on the plan can be found here:
http://www.gov.state.ak.us/archive.php?id=1152&type=1

Here is an excerpt:
“The Energy Debit Card will go out to every qualifying Permanent Fund Dividend applicant. The benefit will be $100 per month per PFD recipient. The amount allocated for children’s benefits will accrue to the card of the sponsor on their PFD application. Money not used on the card one month will carry over to the next month. It is expected that the amount available to individuals through the card will be considered income by the IRS.

The temporary Energy Debit Card can be used for purchases from Alaska energy vendors, such as heating oil distributors, natural gas utilities, electric utilities, gas stations and other retail fueling stations.”

There have been some (environmentalists) who disagree with this short term plan of 1 year. Even to suggest that all Alaskans have to do, is turn out our lights when not in use…hmmm...this statement alone makes me wonder if the person who made that suggestion has ever lived in Alaska. Here are several reasons why that suggestion is quite worthless.

1. In Alaska there are a big percentage of people that live in areas where it is dark 5 months out of the year, and to suggest that we turn off lights is ludicrous...And during the summer months where the sun shines 22 hours out of the day we don't need lights.

2. Second, we don’t just rely on electricity for an only energy source. We also use fuel for heating. And to suggest we cut back on that...well... my question in return is how you cut back on heating fuel consumption at -40 outside.

3. We have long distance driving all over Alaska, things are not just a few miles apart, but 100’s, so cutting back on our gasoline consumption is something Alaskan people have learned how to do a long time ago, so they can afford to get from one place to another.

4. Bicycles, motorcycles, etc are useless on the interior of Alaska highways, 5 to 6 months a year, due to icy roads and extreme freezing temps.

I am not saying that environmentalists are bad, it's a good thing to have our planet's best interest at heart, or at least most of them do.

But they need to look at the whole picture before spouting off bright ideas to people who are living in the midst of higher prices on everything, (especially when compared to any place else in the United States) long distances to drive to get from point a to point b (with no population between point a and b) extreme weather conditions (-50’s in the winters and +90’s in the summer) and income variations, etc. etc. etc.

This energy impact plan is only a temporary fix…it will not solve the problem but it may help alleviate some of the impact until something else can be worked out.

CU