Diversification

Index

In 1978, the electric utility for the town of Haines was offered for sale. Haines is 90 miles north of Juneau in the Lynn Canal, and has a population of about 2,212.

After considering the purchase carefully, AEL&P, sought and obtained the permission of the Alaska Public Utilities Commission to buy Haines Light & Power Company Inc. This gave AEL&P the go-ahead it needed to proceed with the purchase, and the sale was soon closed.

AEL&P further diversified itself when it bought Systems Northwest, a company which was supplying it with computer services, from Toner Nordling & Associates on December 27, 1988.

Systems Northwest was founded in 1974 and it offered computer "time sharing" to its customers. At that time, computers were quite expensive and large. The only way many companies could afford data processing services was to purchase "time" on a computer system like Systems Northwest's.

So AEL&P, like the City of Juneau, Bartlett Memorial Hospital, the Sealaska Corporation and others, became a customer of Systems Northwest. As time passed, Systems Northwest developed specialized billing and accounting software for AEL&P, and the company grew quite dependent on Systems Northwest for data processing services.

Realizing how much of AEL&P's success and future was tied to Systems Northwest, AEL&P's management made the decision to buy the company when the opportunity arose. Since that purchase, Systems Northwest has continued to operate as an autonomous company, but its major customer was AEL&P and much of its focus remained on supporting AEL&P's need for state-of-the-art data processing tools until their closing in 1993.

Glacier Highway Electric Association merged with AEL&P in 1989. GHEA, a member-owned electric cooperative, was started by Auke Bay residents who grew tired of operating gasoline-powered pumps and washing machines, and wanted access to modern, electrically powered labor-saving devices and conveniences.

When GHEA was started (1949), it was not economically feasible for AEL&P to extend service to Auke Bay, but the 29 Auke Bay residents were determined to find a way. So they formed a cooperative, naming it the Glacier Highway Electric Association, and elected a board of directors in March of 1946.

The board met regularly, frequently in the home of Jim DeHart, and diligently planned the electric association's system and to arrange the first loan from the Rural Electrification Administration. Eventually the Association rented a warehouse on Glacier Highway near Auke Lake.

By December 1950, GHEA was serving 153 members. Ten years later, the membership had more than doubled to 315 member-consumers. Membership continued to increase, and by December 1970 included 455 residential consumers and 55 businesses and institutions.

With the increase in membership, the demand for electricity grew as well. Between December 1950 and December 1960, the power used by the average consumer more than tripled. Of course, this was a period when well pumps, refrigerators and washing machines were becoming commonplace in houses. As electric stoves, clothes dryers and increased household wiring became standard between December 1960 and December 1970, the electricity used by the average consumer doubled.

Due to its small customer base and high operating costs, Glacier Highway Electric Association's members elected to merge with AEL&P in 1989.