The Cordova Times - Opinion: Alaska Intrastate Gas: Pretty Pictures Don't Tell the Whole Story
Posted 02/19/2012
by Mary Anne Bishop - for the Cordova Times
If you can’t judge a book by its cover, Cordovans might not want to judge Alaska Intrastate Gas Company by the flyer it mailed out. So, why not instead consider the facts and then judge AIGCO?
Who is AIGCO?
AIGCO stands for Alaska Intrastate Gas Company, a 26-year-old privately-owned company with certificates to provide propane-air, natural gas, or manufactured gas public utility service to 18 communities in Alaska including Ketchikan, Sitka, Juneau, Petersburg, Valdez, Kodiak, Seward and Cordova.
What communities does AIGCO currently provide propane, natural gas, or manufactured gas service to?
None. They have never been successful in convincing any of the 18 communities to let them do business in their community.
Who owns AIGCO?
Francis “Frank” Avezac, age 66, owns 75 percent and Paul Rusanowski, age 67, owns 25 percent of the company. Avezac is an independent accountant who lives in Anchorage, and Rusanowski is a resource extraction (timber, mining, water, gas, oil) consultant with the Shipley Group and lives in Utah.
What is the proposed land sale between the City of Cordova and AIGCO?
The contract would provide for the sale of 4.21 acres of publicly owned, waterfront tidelands at a cost to AIGCO of $109,986. The land includes 770 feet of undeveloped shoreline along New England Cannery Road (also known as Orca Road) and is adjacent to Fleming Spit, an area designated by the City of Cordova as a community park, natural resource area, camping, and recreation area.
How would AIGCO obtain rock to fill the tidelands?
The contract states that at no additional cost or expense to AIGCO, the City of Cordova will provide publicly owned fill material from the Fleming Spit quarry in sufficient quantity to permit AIGCO to create the 4.21 fill pad that will hold a gas send-out facility.
Will anadromous (salmon) streams be impacted?
Yes, one stream will be impacted.
How many years does AIGCO have to complete the facility?
Five years, but that can be extended another 2 years if AIGCO has made “satisfactory progress towards completion.”
What kinds of earnings and assets does AIGCO have?
The most recent annual report filed with the Regulatory Commission was in 2004. It states that: “It has not commenced operations and has no earnings.” AIGCO’s assets in 2004 included $258 in cash. Although low in tangible assets, AIGCO listed intangible assets (such as their certificates) that AIGCO is valued at $5.3 million.
Has the City of Cordova asked AIGCO for a feasibility study, or proof of financial fitness or a business plan?
No, No, and No.
Was there a unanimous vote by Cordova City Council to sell the land to AIGCO?
No. Three of seven councilmen voted against selling the land to AIGCO.
What kind of gas does AIGCO want to bring to Cordova?
Propane, barged from Prince Rupert Canada.
Could a Cordova propane-air send out facility also handle natural gas (LNG)?
No, according to AIGCO’s documents, a new and different facility would be needed to support storage and handling of natural gas since it is a cryogenic fluid.
Will AIGCO propane be cheaper than oil and electricity?
AIGCO claims it will be, but has provided very few hard numbers. More likely, propane will not always be cheaper than oil. For example, in March 2009, AIGCO estimated that their commercial rate would be $19.8 per million btu (british thermal units). At that time, Cordova Electric Cooperative’s price for diesel fuel was $14.69 per million btu or 25 percent less than propane. Similarly, in your own home, an electric appliance may be cheaper to operate (and is cleaner) than propane during months that Cordova is 100 percent hydroelectric.
Also, the price of converting from oil, electric, or wood needs to be taken into account to figure out the true cost of propane. For example, it would cost about $1 million for the Cordova Electric Cooperative to convert from diesel to propane (see Dec. 15, 2010 council packet for more details).
Is there room to bury gas pipelines in Cordova?
Right now, all of Cordova’s existing utilities (phone, cable, electric power) are buried underground at various depths. In general, our utilities are not buried as deep as what a proposed gas line would be required by code. This means existing phone, cable, and electric utility lines would need to be dug up and exposed in order to bury the propane pipeline.
What is Cordova’s Proposition One on the March 6 ballot?
Proposition One allows Cordovans to either approve or reject Ordinance 1088, which is the ordinance that provides for the sale of the tidelands to AIGCO.
So a NO vote on Proposition One is a vote against the land sale to AIGCO?
Correct.
Remember, it’s the facts, not the pictures that tell the true AIGCO story.
VOTE NO ON PROPOSITION ONE.
Mary Anne Bishop can be reached at bishopmary@yahoo.com
All views and opinions are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Cordova Times. To write an opinion piece, letter to the editor or reply, email
