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| The Wrangell Mountains, as viewed from Glennallen, Alaska. |
Rural Alaska Is Undergoing Constriction Due To High Utility Rates & Cost Of Living
Ahtna, Inc., the Copper River Valley's regional Native Corporation, has launched a major initiative to drastically lower local fuel rates -- by 2017. The corporation, which serves an area as large as West Virginia, including multiple Athabascan villages, has said its idea is fueled by a desire to make the valley livable and economical. The corporation doesn't expect to make a big profit.
But, it does hope to get electricity and heating to locals through natural gas wells 15 miles west of Glennallen, at the heart of the region.
Like many places in rural Alaska, very high gas, heating oil and electrical rates have tamped down growth. Businesses and schools are hurting. Several major businesses closed down this winter due to the high cost of heating. And three local schools -- Gakona School, Chistochina School and Copper Center School -- have all closed in recent years, due to the combination of low student rates and high fuel costs.
There are few students because their parents of child-bearing age have had to leave the Copper Valley due to lack of work, high costs of goods -- and heating and electrical rates.