Governor Mike Dunleavy will meet with legislators and local officials in Nome on Friday, June 23 to sign Senate Bill 98 into law.

The bill will transfer management of the Power Cost Equalization endowment fund, which is currently worth about $1 billion, to the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. It would also mandate regular reporting to the legislature regarding asset value and income.

The bill also calls for the endowment fund to be managed “using the same investment objective and asset allocation as the corporation uses in managing the Alaska Permanent Fund.”

According to the Alaska Energy Authority, a state agency, the Power Cost Equalization program provides economic assistance to communities and residents that use a rural electric utility, where the cost of electricity can be “three to five times higher” than for customers in more urban areas of the state.

The ceremony will be held at the Richard Foster Building.

Image at top: Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaking at the Capitol in Juneau. Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO, used with permission