Chugach Electric project continues in Girdwood
By Chase Berenson
TNews Staffwriter
Chugach Electric, the electric utility that serves the Turnagain Arm, is continuing work on the replacement of the Girdwood to Indian transmission line. This work is happening in the wetlands between the Seward Highway and the Alaska Railroad track and intersects Toadstool Drive. Chugach has contracted with Sturgeon Electric to complete the work.
The Girdwood to Indian transmission line covers approximately 12 miles of the utility’s Quartz Creek Transmission Line, a 90.4-mile line that runs from Cooper Landing to Anchorage. This line was built 64 years ago and is reaching its end of life, and Chugach has been replacing the line in sections. Approximately 36 miles of the line had already been replaced prior to the start of the Girdwood to Indian section, and this is the sixth section to be replaced. Once completed, this piece of critical infrastructure will ensure reliability between hydroelectric plants on the Kenai Peninsula and power plants in the Anchorage area.
Because the transmission line is fed by power sources to the north in the Anchorage area and the south on the Kenai, the flow of power into the Turnagain Arm communities largely won’t be directly impacted; while the line is being replaced, Girdwood will still receive power from the south while Bird Creek and Indian will still receive power from the north.
The Girdwood to Indian Transmission Line Rebuild project started in 2024, and 9.5 miles of it is complete. While driving the Seward Highway between Girdwood and Anchorage, it’s possible to see that the old latticework transmission line structures have been replaced with tubular structures and the new structures are sited on new pads. Beyond these most easily visible improvements, Chugach has also been installing new conductors, structures, guys, anchors, and foundations, plus removing the old equipment.
The last phase of this project is the section connecting Girdwood to the new line. The project plan originally called for this section to be completed between January and March 2025. The work is planned for the wintertime to mitigate potential environmental damage, as the wetlands and other areas of ground are frozen. However, the 2024-2025 winter was unseasonably warm in Girdwood, which prevented the wetlands from reliably freezing and delayed the work to 2026.
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