As the Biden Administration celebrates the anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the work to fulfill its ambitious goals — equitable job creation, clean energy generation, emissions reduction, and sustainable investments in the economic development of rural and Native communities — continues uninterrupted.
While the IRA presents an opportunity to bring more clean energy projects to Alaska, when implemented with equity at the center, it also provides an opportunity to reshift the imbalances of power that have led to our current energy and economic crises.
We share an unrelenting focus on equitable IRA outcomes that improve the lives of Alaskans disproportionately harmed by high energy burdens. That is not mutually exclusive with acknowledging – and even celebrating – the historic, aspirational opportunities embedded within the IRA, but only if they are realized. In Alaska, that’s far from guaranteed.
For example, the IRA represents the largest ever federal investment in rural electric co-ops (RECs). Ninety percent of Alaskans get their electricity from a REC or municipal Utility, and the four RECs along the road system supply seventy five percent of Alaska’s total electric load. Alaska is in an energy crisis that can be mitigated — if not avoided — with investments in clean, affordable, local energy. Our RECs should use every opportunity available to build lasting energy infrastructure and create local jobs with this federal funding, but some dismiss the IRA on an ideological basis; Matanuska Electric CEO Tony Izzo went so far as to refer to the IRA as the “money printing bill” at this year’s annual meeting.
Despite these obstacles, organizers across the state are currently working with ratepayers to urge our RECs to grow the needed capacity to draw down IRA money, which will ensure that costs stabilize and decrease in the long term. We believe Alaskans agree that political will and grant writing capacity are far easier to find than hundreds of extra dollars from hardworking Alaskans’ pockets just to keep the lights on.
Equally important, and just as immediate, is the need to root our expectations of the IRA in a place that centers a Just Transition. Generations of Alaskans have been organizing and building a base of power to advocate for an energy transition that respects Alaska Native peoples, protects Alaskan land, and builds trust in our communities. While the IRA has the potential to deliver on some of these demands, it also dealt a blow to many frontline communities in Alaska by holding renewable energy on federal land hostage to oil and gas development.
If we shift our expectations of federal investments like the IRA to include equity, we’re setting a benchmark that will course correct the system for years to come and start to remove the barriers that have been built to keep BIPOC communities shut out of these opportunities in the past. A key ingredient in this shift is instituting Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC): before moving forward with any action, the government must obtain Tribal consent that is fully informed and freely given. With FPIC, Tribes can assert their sovereign decision making power, shifting power to the people best positioned to lead the Just Transition.
That’s why organizers like us in Alaska and across the country are working with partners like United Today, Stronger Tomorrow to explore the idea of a listening tour with the Administration so that they can hear our concerns firsthand.
Celebration of the IRA should never take the place of robust, dogged advocacy to demand that the promise of the IRA actually meets the needs of the communities it centers. We are excited to continue – and to escalate – this work in the months ahead. Perhaps next year, when we reflect on the impact of the IRA’s second year, we’ll be a little more inclined to applaud its achievements.
Sydney Scout is an energy analyst, advocate, and organizer living on Dena’ina lands in Anchorage; she serves as a Board Member of the Alaska Public Interest Group (AKPIRG).
Lila Hobbs lives on Dena’ina lands and serves as the Energy Justice Lead for Native Movement, a nonprofit dedicated to building people power, rooted in an Indigenized worldview, toward healthy, sustainable, and just communities for all.
This post is a submission to The Alaska Current. Please send submissions to news@thealaskacurrent.com.