The US state of Alaska is on the brink of a gas crisis, and its largest city, Anchorage, could be without electricity in the coming years as gas reserves in Cook Inlet run out, the New York Times reports.
„Gas used to be so abundant that Alaska used it not only to heat homes and generate electricity, but also to send tankers with the fuel abroad. Now most of the drilling companies have left, and gas in Cook Inlet is dwindling. Officials expect that in the next few years they may not have enough fuel to keep Anchorage, the state's largest city, fully lit,“ the publication says.
As the newspaper notes, the state, whose economy is built on oil and gas, is now “on the brink of a gas crisis“, despite the fact that it still produces them in large volumes. The problem of depleted reserves has been known for more than 15 years, but there is still no unified plan to solve it.
Local utilities suggest that they will probably have to buy gas from abroad for at least some time from about 2028, which will lead to an increase in energy and heating costs by 10-40%.