The lower Kuskokwim River community of Akiak has been without power for nearly six weeks, unrelated to the typhoon remnant that swept through the region.
Akiak tribal citizen Mike Williams Sr. said his community of roughly 450 people is stretched thin.
"It has been like almost 40 days and, and it has been a crazy month, but we're running out of resources," Williams Sr. said.
Williams Sr. said fuel costs run roughly $70 a day for dozens of homes that have relied on personal generators since the power went out in late September. He said cold weather is compounding the problems for families.
"Last night, it got like 19 degrees and some of those generators froze, and they had to work on their carburetors," Williams Sr. said.
Williams Sr. said he’s already burned through his $1,000 Permanent Fund dividend check from expenses related to the outage.
The community’s school and health clinic remain operational on backup generators. But for as many as 20 homes still without personal generators, Williams Sr. said there has likely been a significant loss of subsistence foods. He welcomes the recent move by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to open an emergency moose hunt aimed at helping communities affected by ex-Typhoon Halong, which is open to all Akiak residents.
"Those that didn't catch need to go out and get their moose," Williams Sr. said.
The community has found support from a range of sources. Donlin Gold and the Association of Village Council Presidents have both provided financial relief for fuel costs. A community member recently launched a GoFundMe campaign to recoup some of the fuel costs for residents. And Calista Corporation, the regional Alaska Native corporation, says it has donated funds to Akiak’s tribe to purchase additional home generators.
But when personal generators can go back into storage and homes can be plugged back into the grid is unclear. In an emailed statement on Oct. 24, the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) — the state-run corporation assisting Akiak — wrote that it expected power to be restored on Oct. 29. But now, hopes for restoration have been pushed several days further, according to Akiak Mayor Olinka Jones.
In its statement, AEA cited an extensive record of mechanical failures due to poor maintenance and upkeep in Akiak. When Akiak’s main generator went down in the early hours of Sept. 22, AEA wrote that three separate generators that could have served as backup options were inoperable due to “little to no preventative, scheduled maintenance."
In a meeting held in early October, AEA rural programs manager Chris McConnell explained that at least one additional generator will need to be operational to handle the increased load demands through the winter. Performing oil changes and other scheduled maintenance will also require that multiple generators are operational.
Now, Akiak is nearing a repeat of the summer outage in 2024 that lasted nearly two months. Williams Sr. referred to the power outages as a “man-made disaster.”
"I hope, once the generators are are repaired and going, that we have personnel working on maintaining them, to do it in [a] professional way, instead of having to go through this once again," Williams Sr. said.
AEA said that it plans to meet with Akiak’s utility management personnel to discuss training and best practices once power is restored. Mayor Olinka Jones said the city is already planning to take advantage of training opportunities this summer. But first, Akiak has a long winter ahead.
