NWHA 2014 Annual Conference – Seattle, WA
Trey Acteson, CEO
SEAPA’s Mission: To provide the lowest wholesale power rate consistent with sound utility planning and business practices. We exist for the long-term benefit of our member utilities and the rate payers, providing unified regional leadership for project development and prudent management of our interconnected power system.
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Regional Profile:
Extends 500 miles Metlakatla to Yakutat
35,000 sq. miles
Land ownership dominated by Fed 95%
Mostly Inventoried Roadless
18,500 miles of shoreline
34 Communities
• 28 < 1000 people
• 12 < 100 people
S.E. Population 75,000
• 33k Juneau
• 20k SEAPA Interconnected Region
• 9k Sitka
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Southeast Alaska Power Agency
• Regional Generation & Transmission Joint Action Agency
• SEAPA owns the Tyee and Swan Lake Hydroelectric Projects, providing wholesale power and energy to the Municipalities of Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg
• SEAPA owns the transmission lines linking those communities together – Approximately
175 miles of transmission, including 14 miles of submarine cable
• Evolved from the Four Dam Power Pool
• SEAPA’s hydro projects were originally built by the State in early 1980’s and later purchased
• Provide bundled services (Scheduling, Planning, Engineering, O&M, Water Mgmt., etc.)
• Facilitate regional project development

SEAPA Control Area
2011 2012
Meters Load/MWh
PSG2112 55,404
WRG1979 38,509
KTN7443 181,932
Totals: 11,534 275,845 MWh
PSG
Note: Only 12,000 meters to spread cost of new development
WRG
KTN
Petersburg
Wrangell
SEAPA Generation
Swan
Lake
25 MVA
77,000 MWh
Tyee
Lake
25 MVA
130,000 MWh
Tyee
Swan

Purpose: Enhance S. E. Alaska Integrated
Resource Plan (SEIRP)
• Catalog potential hydropower sites
• Establish desired data set for evaluation
• Conduct field studies to fill SEIRP gaps
• Raise base level of knowledge
• Create ranking criteria/methodology
• Establish regional database for decision makers
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• Over 60 unique sites
• Limited funding 1.7 million
• Remote logistics
• Weather
• Safety
• Balancing confidentiality with mission
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Step 1 - Select project manager (MCM)
Step 2 – Define overall objectives (Calibration)
– Review Preliminary Assessment (SEIRP)
– Perform Gap Analysis
Step 3 – Project definition
– Data collection objectives
Step 4 – Reconnaissance
Step 5 – Analysis & Recommendations
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Inspection criteria defined
Project library structure created
Gap analysis of SEIRP
Reconnaissance plan developed
Field team deployed to Annette Island in 2013 to evaluate energy and capacity content capabilities of entire island
• Basin hydrology assessment (inflow prediction)
• Flood estimation using USGS regression analysis
• Stream gauge installation at two sites
• Intake/Impoundment surveys
• Bathymetric survey (depth) and side band LIDAR
(storage) assessment
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• Best to deploy hydro guru on initial recon
• Cluster “like” sites to minimize costs
• Cleary define objective for each site
• Clearly define technical teams and equipment
• Explore lower-tech data collection options
• Ensure adequate redundancy
• Expect delays – Be flexible
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• Blue Lake – Sitka
• Whitman Lake – Ketchikan
• Swan Lake – Near Ketchikan
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Raise dam 83’
New Powerhouse (3) 5.7MW turbines
New 1 MW Fish Valve Unit
Decommission (4) turbine generators
New intake structure and gate house
New surge chamber
Penstock and tunnel upgrades
Additional 34,500 MWH firm energy (27%)
Cost: $142M + 15M Diesel Project
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Dam constructed in 1927
2 - 42” penstocks
4.6 MW output
Supplies hatchery
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SEAPA’s Swan Lake Dam
174’ High & 430’ long at crest. Reservoir capacity 86,000 acre-feet.
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Swan Lake Reservoir Expansion Project
Cost: $13,391,869
BENEFITS:
• Displaces up to 800,000 gallons of diesel annually
($2.75 million)
• Adds 25% more active storage
• Maximizes use of existing infrastructure
• Shifts spill to winter generation
• Compliments other projects
• Adds operational flexibility
• Timed with load growth
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• FERC Board of Consultants assembled
• 30% Design Firm under contract
• Non-capacity license amendment to be filed in
April 2014
• Actively pursuing State grant funding
• Construction 2015/16
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