Chugach has several projects scheduled to improve reliability for our members. Below is a short list of projects underway or coming up:

Old Seward Hwy. undergrounding

Work is underway undergrounding overhead conductors between Huffman and O’Malley. Construction is expected to be complete in the fall.

Arctic Road undergrounding

This project will underground the distribution lines along Arctic Road between Raspberry and Dimond. This Title 21undergrounding project is scheduled for construction in the fall.

Substation 3 – Downtown

Substation 3 is a new distribution substation located in Downtown Anchorage. This new substation will allow Substation 9/9a, adjacent to the Coastal Trail off 2nd Avenue, to be retired. Commercial operation is expected later in 2021.

Cooper Landing feeder reconstruction

This project will reconstruct approximately four miles of line between the Daves Creek and Kenai Lake substations. Designed to improve reliability to members in Cooper Landing, construction is scheduled for later in 2021.

Quartz Creek transmission line

There are two sections of line Chugach is working to rebuild for this project. The Summit Lake to Daves Creek section is tentatively scheduled to begin in Jan. 2023. The Indian to Girdwood section is tentatively scheduled for 2023/2024 construction.

A project undergrounding about one mile of distribution and sub-transmission lines along the Old Seward Highway is underway this summer. The project, from O’Malley to Huffman, is part of the undergrounding requirements of Anchorage’s Title 21. Mobilization started in April, and the project is expected to be completed in the fall. Crews will come back in the spring of 2022 for landscaping.

This project will underground approximately one mile of primary overhead distribution line on the West side of Muldoon from Island Drive to Northern Lights Blvd.  It is an overhead to underground conversion and will be funded through collection of Title 21 undergrounding fees.

The design has been completed and permits have been received.  NPC was provided a notice to proceed and started construction in July.  Staking has been completed; trenching and conduit installation has started.  The project will be substantially completed by the end of the year and landscaping will be finished in 2021. 
 

Due to a collaboration between Chugach Electric and JL Properties, you can now charge an electric vehicle (EV) while shopping or dining at a development in South Anchorage. The equipment became active recently at the complex that houses South Restaurant, Mountain View Sports and other businesses near Old Seward Highway and O’Malley Road.

The installation was completed with financial assistance from Chugach as part of a research project to gather information about the use of publicly available chargers. JL Properties manages the development with the new charging equipment. Initially there will be no charge to use the charging station, though that may change in the future. 

This is the second such facility funded by the program, following Alyeska Resort’s installation of charging equipment last fall. Two additional businesses in the Anchorage Bowl are planning to complete their charging sites later this year. The installations are for Level 2 charging equipment with universal connectors. An hour of charging can add 25-30 miles of driving range to the batteries of electric vehicles. {210677}

On the app and website for PlugShare, one of the common ways electric vehicle drivers find places to recharge, the new site is listed as “South Anchorage Mall.”