By John Lau, retired Vice President of ENSTAR Natural Gas
We are once again confronting a natural gas supply crisis in Southcentral Alaska. Depleted Cook Inlet fields can no longer reliably deliver the gas needed to heat homes and generate power for the Railbelt. Utilities warn of potential shortfalls this winter, higher costs, and the need for imports or a North Slope pipeline as longer-term fixes. Roughly 80 percent of Southcentral electricity still depends on natural gas. The stakes for families, businesses, and the regional economy could not be clearer.
This is not the first time. In 2010 the region faced a similar projected shortfall beginning in 2015. Southcentral utilities formed the Long-Term Gas Supply Group to address the dual challenge of seasonal storage and new reserves. A North Slope pipeline remained distant. Major producers were exiting the Cook Inlet—Chevron and Marathon leaving, ConocoPhillips soon to follow—raising the risk of an even steeper decline.
Into that vacuum stepped Dan Sullivan, first as attorney general and then as Department of Natural Resources commissioner. He approached the job as a lawyer, a marketer of Alaska’s resource potential, and a relentless advocate who insisted on results. One of his first priorities was clearing a backlog of more than 2,500 permit applications; within 18 months that backlog had been reduced by roughly 40 percent through bipartisan reforms that improved speed, certainty, and transparency while safeguarding the environment and the state’s interests.
Sullivan treated Cook Inlet not as a dying basin but as an opportunity. He took Alaska’s geology and lease terms directly to senior management at companies including Hilcorp, making the case that the basin still held value. He worked daily—often behind the scenes—with utilities, producers, and other stakeholders to solve practical problems, including storage issues and regulatory hurdles surrounding Hilcorp’s entry. The Legislature had provided important incentives; Sullivan executed on them. He was instrumental in advancing House Bill 280, which eased permitting and allowed use of a DNR-controlled reservoir for the Cook Inlet Natural Gas Storage Alaska facility (CINGSA). That project came online in 2013 and delivered real savings to ratepayers. Critically, he insisted Hilcorp supply the base gas CINGSA required—something the previous operator had failed to deliver. The resulting contracts between the utilities and Hilcorp secured a decade of reliable supply.
These were not isolated actions. They formed part of a clear strategy: get secure, reliable, and affordable energy to Alaskans as soon as possible. Sullivan backed that goal with aggressive advocacy that put Alaska’s resources on the map for investors and with a culture of “executing, executing, executing.” The dual problems of storage and long-term supply were pushed out at least 15 years. Jobs were protected. Energy security for Southcentral was strengthened.
That record matters today. As Southcentral again faces tightening supplies, higher costs, and hard choices about the future, Alaskans need proven leadership that delivers results rather than rhetoric. Dan Sullivan demonstrated as DNR commissioner that focused state action—permitting reform, direct outreach to producers, practical problem-solving, and insistence on accountability—can buy critical time and protect ratepayers. He has carried that same results-oriented approach into the U.S. Senate, fighting for Alaska’s energy potential, resource development, and the interests of working families across the state.
In the November election, voters will decide who best understands the difference between talk and delivery on the issues that keep the lights on and the heat running in Southcentral homes. Dan Sullivan’s track record on Cook Inlet gas shows he has already done the hard work when it counted. That is the kind of experience and follow-through Alaska needs in the Senate for the challenges still ahead.
John Lau formerly served as Vice President of ENSTAR Natural Gas.
