The Alaska Center, formerly the Alaska Center for the Environment, has officially secured majority control of the Chugach Electric Association Board of Directors following the 2025 election, which ended May 30. The control by the leftists of Alaska’s largest utility will influence how it governs for years to come and may eventually lead to power insecurity in the Railbelt.
With the election of Katherine Jernstrom to a four-year term, five of the board’s seven directors were endorsed by The Alaska Center.
That gives the group a solid 71.4% majority, with serious implications for future energy policy, ratepayer impacts, and the political influence of the board.
The current board now includes:
- Mark Wiggin, Chair – Alaska Center-endorsed
- Sisi Cooper, Vice Chair
- Rachel Morse, Treasurer – Alaska Center-endorsed
- Susanne Fleek-Green, Secretary – Alaska Center-endorsed
- Jim Nordlund, Director – Alaska Center-endorsed
- Dan Rogers, Director
- Katherine Jernstrom, Director – Alaska Center-endorsed
Only Dan Rogers and Sisi Cooper are independent of pressure from The Alaska Center. The rest owe their seats to a powerful leftist coalition that includes the Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP) and wealthy labor unions such as IBEW 1547 and the AFL-CIO.
These coordinated endorsements on Alaska’s largest utility’s board consistently deliver 6,500 votes in elections that typically see about 10,000 to 11,000 votes cast.
For example, when Bettina Chastain, an independent candidate in 2023, Susanne Fleek-Green got 6,700 votes, Jim Nordlund received 6,400, and Chastain came in with 6,200, beating The Alaska Center’s Shaina Kilcoyne’s 6,000 votes. In 2024, when Alaska Center’s Mark Wiggan ran, he received 6,400 votes, and this year Katherine Jernstrom pulled out 6,500 votes.
The membership of Chugach Electric Association is not quite 90,000. The participating voters, just 11–12% of eligible cooperative members, determine the outcome. For a regular candidate running independently, breaking through is nearly impossible without matching the Democrat-identifying coalition in both funding and visibility. The high turnout for board seat elections came in 2023, when 15% voted. This year’s election season at Chugach Electric Association was more subdued.
In 2024, Dan Rogers pulled off a rare upset by unseating then-chair Sam Cason. But Rogers was uniquely positioned. He is well-known in the electric utility sector, a former Chugach Electric employee, and was able to finance a significant campaign. Chastain, once a longtime board chair, also managed to win in 2023 by spending her own money and benefiting from name recognition. But even she barely edged out an Alaska Center-backed challenger.
Now, with Jernstrom’s win, the door has effectively closed on independents. The Alaska Center is the new gatekeeper.
In utility association elections, there are no campaign finance disclosures, spending limits, or election transparency laws that govern the races. That lack of oversight has allowed advocacy groups to dominate what are supposed to be member-owned cooperatives, and it’s beginning to show.
Readers of Must Read Alaska will recall that The Alaska Center gets funding through the shadowy Arabella Advisors network of donors, with funding coming through subsets that include the Sixteen Thirty Fund and the Tides Foundation, League of Conservation Voters, another 501(c)(4) environmental advocacy group that gets funding from Arabella Advisor groups.
The board’s Alaska Center-aligned majority is expected to push hard for environmental policy priorities, including the controversial removal of the Eklutna River dam, a push that is concerning to ratepayers and those concerned about long-term energy reliability in Southcentral Alaska.
Meanwhile, the looming natural gas shortage, which is expected to become acute after 2028, demands urgent strategic planning. However, the majority of the board of Alaska’s largest electric utility are firmly anti-fossil fuel and deeply committed to renewables, even as some experts warn that large-scale wind and solar projects for the region are neither economically viable nor technically feasible as replacements.
By resisting cheaper natural gas options in favor of renewables, the board may be steering the utility toward higher rates, less reliability, and costly infrastructure changes that burden ratepayers.
Compounding concerns about the environmentalist takeover of Chugach Electric, board member Susanne Fleek-Green recently took a job as Chief of Staff to Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. That’s raised eyebrows in the wake of a new Anchorage Assembly ordinance that permitted Assemblywoman Anna Brawley to also serve as partisan legislative staffers to Democrat Rep. Andrew Gray, who represents Anchorage in the Legislature. Fleek-Green being both on the board of the utility and running the city of Anchorage raises questions about political loyalty vs. sound energy policy.
Katherine Jernstrom’s successful 2025 campaign shows just what has happened to Chugach Electric. She was backed by a long and influential list of endorsers, as published on her campaign website. These endorsers include Democrat Mark Begich, who was the person who negotiated the deal to sell Municipal Light and Power (the Anchorage utility) to Chugach Electric and for whom Fleek-Green was a paid congressional staff member when Mark Begich was in the Senate:
- The Alaska Center
- IBEW 1547
- Alaska AFL-CIO
- Renewable Energy Alaska Project (REAP)
- Alaska Carpenters Union
- Rep. Andrew Gray
- Sen. Forrest Dunbar
- Rep. Zack Fields
- Rep. Carolyn Hall
- Rep. Ky Holland
- Assemblyman Daniel Volland
- Former Anchorage Mayor and U.S. Senator Mark Begich
- Former Rep. Jennie Armstrong
- Former Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins
- Jimmy Miner
- Matt McDaniel
- Ben Kellie
- Jon Bittner
- Karen King
- Lori Davey
- John-Henry Heckendorn
- Katie Scovic
- Eric McCallum
- Andre Horton
- Kate Consenstein
- Radhika Krishna
- Kirk Rose
- Laile Fairbairn
- Claire Pywell
- Gretchen Fauske
- Jenna Wright
- Brit and Jerrod Galanin
- Veronica Slajer
- Isaac Vanderburg
- Penny Gage
- David McCarthy
- Bill Popp
As the power dynamic on the Chugach Electric board shifts sharply toward a Green New Deal ideological direction, ratepayers may soon feel the impact in the form of higher bills, costly and unreliable experimentation projects, and fewer checks and balances at the utility’s top level. The governance of Alaska’s utility cooperative is no longer representing the members, but is now representing the Democratic Party and its surrogate — The Alaska Center (for the Environment).
Say goodbye to the Eklutna Power generation station.
Say hello to windmills!
Man-made climate change …….the biggest hoax and fraud ever invented on humanity. The ultimate goal on civilization……..a thorough and complete brainwashing. The photo speaks for itself. Res Ipsa Loquitor.
Brainwashing is easy when their minds are like children, Julia.
While climate change is obviously a continuation of change throughout the millennium, man is accelerating it. We can’t change the evolution of time, but we can change some of the effects of what man has done, and certainly, prevent future harm. Fossil fuels damage the sol and air as they are removed from the earth, processed, shipped and burned. My wish is that my great- great – great grandchildren have a nurturing planet to live on. but sun and the wind can help with that.
Get off the kool-aid. One mega volcano can change everything, along with landslides, fires, and just about everything nature can hurl at us. You are sadly uninformed.
The cooperative was dissolved decades ago in favor of the union running the show. Chugach is a make work project for the union that sells electricity and is not run for the benefit of the rate payers.
Call it what it really is: The Alaska Center for Radical Leftism and Nihilistic Anti-Development Extremism.
Chugach Electric is a spiraling tragedy of a dumpster fire. Management leadership is extremely poor and was chosen specifically because the Board is running the day to day operation. A real CEO would never work for the existing board. Financially they are in really bad shape and rates are continuing to increase while they spend more for less reliable renewable power.
Donald Trump got elected with less votes than Joe Biden got in 2020. You get what you elect.
Joe Biden. 18,000,000 stuffed ballot votes. While he campaigned (slept) in his basement.
Biggest election fraud in US history. And everybody knows it.
Prove it. You can’t unless you check the computer in the bedroom of the conspiracy theorist that invented that one.
You mean Kamala did not get elected without the roughly 20 million fraudulent votes that Usurper AutoPen received in 2020.
Usurper AutoPen was a wholly illegitimate president, who deserves to be hanged for his treason.
Trump used auto pin to sign that Covid check you got. Did you cash it?
Evidently you still believe the garbage that was handed out. Afer 3-1/2 years, they DID find out that he DID WIN. After ALL the recounts and that they found out there were many illegal and miscounted votes. You seem to continue to believe the lies they told right after the election.
Frank Rast is a silly man, brainwashed by the leftist media. The six states that rigged their over-voting by 18-20 million votes had four years to prepare for the fraud. Covid, early voting, late voting, nail-in voting, sneaking ballots in late at night, no down-voting, electronic manipulation, dead-voting, over-voting, non-registered voting, …….you name the ways …. The Democrats cheated every step of the way and we ended up with a feckless loser president who created an unimaginable mess for this country. And yet, brainwashed jobs like Frank Rast still believe it was a legitimate election? Sorry for their low IQs.
Kc Americans should not have to second guess an election period. We the people are not trusting of anything anymore and that’s a travesty.
Not true. Recount after re count proved the votes were accurate. What you are repeating has been proven untrue hundreds of times. People can believe anything they want, but facts are facts.
And if you believe that President Autopen got more votes than O’Bama did, I have a bridge across the Knik Arm to sell you. Cheers –
What does President Trump have to do with Chugach Electric, Frank?
It’s too bad the crowd that insists on beating up on the governor and republicans any time they even look at sustainable energy could not find the wherewithal to focus on this race. Now I see one of them, who writes for MRAK is providing some sort of training to hold politicians accountable. My guess is FACL. Wonder where they were during the Chugach election?
I don’t see any work from the likes of Kevin McCabe on this.
What is the difference between sustainable and renewable energy? Enquiring minds want to know. Cheers –
In relation to energy, not much, really. Sustainable simply means the ability to continue over time, while renewable means the sun renews every morning when it comes up, and the wind will blow again even when it pauses.
The Green New Deal squirms forth from the tundra.
Anchorage voters have no idea how owned they really are! Jernstrom is nothing more than a pinup girl, hand picked and promoted because she looks good on tv, and will do what she is told by her handlers. That tactic has been in use throughout the Lower 48. In this election, it was all too obvious. But the 11 voters (or so) who actually cast a CEA ballot can’t be expected to know anything about energy production or distribution. They are too easily charmed by good looks and strong presentation. If any of the CEA membership had read the bios, they would have noticed that the other two candidates both had enormous amounts of direct experience, whereas she has none. But I wouldn’t credit the voters with even attempting to inform themselves—those baby blue eyes and that long blonde hair, and those skinny, pliant gams had them all at “hello.”
I’ve completely lost faith in the voting population of Anchorage. The few citizens here who actively engage are utterly owned by the propaganda machine of the left.
All part of the great plan: replace as many board members as possible with your followers and buy up the majority stock of the utility. Prepare for more solar panels and rate raising alternative energy all supported by utility rate payers – residential, commercial and goverment.
Interesting connection between Jernstrom and supporter Karen King. Jernstrom served on the Board of Spawn Ideas and Karen King is the President. This once successful advertising agency, formerly “the Nerland Agency” has recently been sold to an Outside company to avoid bankruptcy.
Did Jernstom’s resume include governance of a failed company? We all know the answer.
The tide has changed – this won’t matter much in the future.
With the realization of AI in society – we,v the USA and the world, needs to increase our electrical output by 200% to 300%.
That’s why ALL of Big Tech is currying favor with Trump.
EVERY policy foundation of the Democratic party is on the ash heap of history – open borders, endless wars, free trade, genital mutilation of minors, all things Trans – and yes global warming/climate change or whatever they are calling it this year.
“By resisting cheaper natural gas options in favor of renewables, the board may be steering the utility toward higher rates, less reliability, and costly infrastructure changes that burden ratepayers.”
Replace “may be” with “is” and you have it right.
With 8000 members casting ballots out of 90,000, you can’t blame the Alaska Center. If you didn’t vote, the only person you can blame is the one looking back at you in the mirror.
While she was elected with ACE backing, Rachel Morse has been a reasonable advocate for the consumer. Be ready next year because I doubt neither she nor Sisi cooper will get the backing of the Alaska center. They’ll move it further to the left.
Rogers won because he’s a power engineer, grew up in Alaska, started a company supporting the industry in Alaska and knows the business. He had a lot of votes from people in the industry who know the business – both union hands and others in the business.
Get out and support reasonable candidates next year or our rates will be going way up. They’ll already go up because of imported gas, but if we start increasing wind, solar and batteries, it will go way up.
If you don’t like what’s happening, get out and do something about it rather than just comment online.
It’s all about RTO.
Agreed. If you read or listened to the bios of the 3 candidates running on Chugach’s own website, the other 2 candidates had vast experience in the electrical world vs the woman, who had none. Normally, or even using common sense, you would think that would be a no brainer decision, but life is no longer normal, nor do people make smart decisions. Or worse yet, they don’t pay attention and leave the decision making (voting) up to someone else until it’s too late. It is very disappointing.
Thank you MEA for building your own plant. Now it’s time for the Valley to consider the wisdom of having a continual and growing flood of immigrants from Anchorage.
This scandal has been going on since the 80s. The IBEW has controlled the board since then. It’s amazing that they’re sharing that power with Alaska Center. It’s shameful that Chugach customers do not vote out the board that continually raises power prices and make the grid in Alaska more vulnerable to outages. I remember the guy who, in the 80s and 90s worked to inform Chugach customers about the IBEW shenanigans. He was handing out flyers in front of the Sully when the IBEW’s brothers in arms, the Anchorage Police Department arrested him and quite abusively threw him into the back seat of a cruiser and put him in a cell overnight. Unions stick together. It’s up to us to break their control over our electricity and vote in people with common sense – and no conflict of interest.
“……The IBEW has controlled the board since then. It’s amazing that they’re sharing that power with Alaska Center………”
Very true, and a very interesting thought. This deserves scrutiny……..
We deserve what we get when we don’t bother to vote.
A lot of conspiracy theorists have said these folks aren’t leftist environmentalists at all but actually traitors to America. They say that Putin wants to take Alaska back, that this is the FSB going after the power grid and these folks are imposters working in the service of Russia. But I defend them every time, I say “The Democratic party platform has always been about privatizing publicly owned utilities and environmentalists have always hated clean energy alternatives to fossil fuels.”.
Anchorage tilts so far left it can’t stand up on its own feet. Fairbanks will be asked to prop it up until it can’t stand either…