CEA Candidate Questions: Harold Hollis

Voting in Chugach Electric Association’s board election will open on April 19. Electronic ballots are due by 3 p.m. on May 19. Paper ballots must be received by May 18. Members can also vote in person at the CEA Annual Meeting held at Changepoint Alaska on May 19 at 6 p.m. More information on voting and candidates can be found on the CEA Election page.

Here are the answers from Harold Hollis. Hollis is a retired engineer and businessperson. He currently serves as Treasurer of the CEA Board, of which he has been a member since 2018. He also serves on the Board of the Alaska Power Association. His full candidate profile can be found here. He also has a campaign website and campaign Facebook page.

Harold Hollis, from his CEA candidate profile

1.Why do you want to serve on CEA’s Board?

I am the current Board Treasurer having served on the Board since July 2018.  I am proud of the accomplishments Chugach has made in that time including the successful acquisition of ML&P.  But there remain significant challenges facing the utility, not the least include securing a long-term gas supply and transition to clean energy.  

Now more than ever, the Board needs stable, strong business minded leadership.  An Alaska resident since 1982, I have over 40 years of successful business experience as a professional engineer, business owner, and executive.  I understand the complexity of Chugach’s challenges and bring my business and technical experience to the Board in making prudent decisions in the best interest of Chugach and our members. 

My priority is for Chugach to continue providing safe, reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy to its members, while diversifying its generation portfolio with clean and renewable energy sources.  Our kids and future generations depend on it.

2. Are there any particular policies you would champion as a member of the Board? Are there any current or proposed policies you would oppose?

The Board has worked with management to develop a 5-year Strategic Plan which was approved in December of last year, a copy of which is posted on Chugach’s website in detail.  The plan has seven (7) strategic priorities which in general include safety, integration cost savings, member engagement, economic development, employee development, decarbonization and natural gas supply.  I support each of these and will work hard to bring all to fruition which will enhance Chugach’s reliability and sustainability.

3. What are the biggest challenges CEA will face in the next five to ten years? What can be done to prepare to meet them?

There are several significant challenges facing Chugach.  The most immediate is securing a long-term affordable gas supply to maintain reliability of electric service to its members.  This has come about as a result of Hilcorp Alaska’s announcement that the current utility contracts will not be renewed.   

As mentioned above, Chugach has a priority to reduce carbon emissions and transition to clean energy.  In December 2022, the Board approved carbon reduction goals.  It also approved purchase of a battery energy storage system to be located at its headquarters site which will help to reduce carbon emissions, enhance reliability, and result in savings to our members.  Chugach is also moving forward with plans for commercial scale renewable generation, wind and solar. 

One challenge for implementation of large-scale clean energy is upgrade of the Railbelt transmission system such that it can accept and efficiently move electricity where it is needed.  Chugach is systematically upgrading its owned transmission lines and working with the other utilities to obtain Federal and State funding for further Railbelt transmission upgrades.  I am confident with wise and practical decision making by the Board that these challenges will be resolved in the best interests of the members.

4. In 2022 CEA’s Board spent over 60% of their regular public board meetings in Executive Session. While Executive Sessions are sometimes necessary, their extensive use excludes member-owners from significant discussions of issues such as strategic planning and sources of power generation. Do you believe that cooperative boards have an obligation to their member-owners to maximize the openness and transparency of their decision making? Should CEA’s Board minimize its use of Executive Session? What could be done to achieve this goal?

Yes, I do believe cooperative boards have an obligation to their members of openness and transparency in their decision making.  Chugach has received criticism of late regarding this and I can attest the Board has taken this seriously and has implemented measures to address the concerns.  The last several board meetings have been scheduled with significantly more discussion in general session and limited executive sessions to very specific topics or portions of topics that involve confidential or sensitive issues in accordance with State open meeting guidelines. 

5. Hilcorp has said that it cannot guarantee natural gas supplies from Cook Inlet beyond its current contracts (CEA’s contract with Hilcorp ends in 2028). Production for CEA’s Beluga River Unit is currently expected to end in 2033. What strategies should CEA use to address   potential future shortfalls in Cook Inlet natural gas?

Chugach has in progress a study of multiple options ranging from additional drilling in Cook Inlet, North Slope natural gas, LNG imported gas, and other fuel substitutes.  It has retained Black & Veatch, an internationally known expert on natural gas, as its consultant to explore all available options.  Working in conjunction with the other Railbelt utilities, the results of the study will help to provide a direction for action and decision making by the Board.

6. In recent years many have argued that there needs to be greater collaboration among the Railbelt utilities, leading to the creation of the Railbelt Reliability Council (RRC) in 2022. Do you believe that utility Board Directors have a role in fostering greater collaboration and integration among Railbelt utilities, or should they defer to staff on these questions? What can board members do to facilitate greater cooperation?

Yes, I do believe directors and the Board have a role in fostering collaboration among the Railbelt utilities, and much progress has been made in that effort.  In my time on the Board, I have witnessed significant advancement of the utilities working together towards common goals.  Developing and putting in place the RRC is just one example.  Chugach and MEA implementing the power pool in conjunction with the acquisition of ML&P is another that has brought significant savings to their members.  Efforts to collaborate on renewable energy and jointly pursue funding opportunities through the IIJA and IRA Federal funding legislation for grid upgrading and modernization are well in progress.  And there are many more examples.  The Chugach Board is supportive of these efforts as I am.

7. The Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) proposal introduced last year by Governor Dunleavy was recently reintroduced in the Alaska Legislature (HB 121 and SB 101). This bill would require utilities to reach 80% renewable power generation by 2040 with intermediate targets along the way. Last year the Railbelt utilities supported amendments that pushed back the milestones and changed the RPS into Clean Energy Standards (CES) that included nuclear power and gas generation technologies (waste heat recovery) that the utilities already have in place. Do you support either the RPS or CES? If so, which do you believe would better serve Alaskans? What role should the Board have in advocacy for either?

While the utilities have not submitted a CES to the Legislature for consideration, I do support the basic premise that the goal is to reduce green house gasses (GHG).  Renewable energy is certainly a component of that, of which I support.  However, I cannot support excluding other forms of clean energy, nor do I support a financial penalty on the utilities should they not achieve the arbitrary renewable energy goals of the current RPS.  A better solution would be to create a financial incentive for adoption of clean and renewable energy sources that does not negatively affect our members rates.

8. How do you think CEA can best take advantage of the many federal infrastructure incentives and grants created under programs such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)?

I am fully supportive of the Railbelt utilities current approach of jointly pursuing the Federal funding as a regional grid.  I believe this provides not only a unified approach but also increases the odds of success by being a larger objective for the funds.  Each utility will have some specific individual targets; however, it is believed the unified approach will bring more dollars to the needed infrastructure upgrades.