Yearly Archives: 2012

Research Matters No. 66.  New Alaska Energy Statistics Report Now Available

November 29, 2012

ISER (Institute of Social and Economic Research) at UAA recently released preliminary data about energy within the state of Alaska. The full report can be accessed by clicking here. If you would like to receive “Research Matters” updates from ISER, you can sign up for the email listing here, or send an email to ResearchMatters@uaa.alaska.edu. Below are some highlights from the report:

 Roughly 6.5 million megawatt-hours of electricity were generated across Alaska in 2011, with natural gas generating 58%, hydroelectric power 20%, diesel and other oil products 16%, coal 6%, and wind less than 1%. Those are preliminary numbers from the most recent annual update of Alaska Energy Statistics, by Ginny Fay and Alejandra Villalobos Melendez of ISER and Corinna West of the Alaska Energy Authority. Final figures will be available in spring 2013. The 2011 preliminary numbers show:

• The shares of electricity generated by natural gas and oil products went up slightly between 2010 and 2011, while the share generated by hydropower declined somewhat.

• The Railbelt region (running from the Kenai Peninsula in the south to Fairbanks in the Interior) generates most of its electricity with natural gas, but also some with hydropower. Many communities in Southeast Alaska rely on hydropower, but some depend entirely on diesel. Rural communities in Western and Interior Alaska rely primarily on diesel to generate electricity, but wind power is being added in a growing number of rural locations, financed largely by the Denali Commission and the Alaska Renewable Energy Fund.

• On average, residential use of electricity per customer in Alaska was about 7,770 kilowatt-hours in 2011. That’s considerably less than the national average of 11,500 kilowatt-hours. But use within Alaska varied widely, depending on the price of electricity—from 1,500 kilowatt-hours in places where electricity is most expensive to 14,900 kilowatt-hours where it is most expensive.

(via: National Employment Law Project)

Are you currently unemployed? Have you been unemployed in the last few years and now back at work? Are you engaged in a long, tough job search?

If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, your stories are needed right now. We are compiling these stories for a campaign we’re ramping up to do two things:

1. Renew the current federal unemployment insurance extensions for 2013, and

2. Expand and strengthen reemployment services for unemployed workers, including those who may have exhausted unemployment benefits as well as current recipients.

Right now, more than 2 million unemployed Americans are facing an abrupt and total cut-off of federal unemployment insurance between Christmas and New Year’s if Congress fails to renew the current Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits program before it expires December 31st. Another 2.8 million currently receiving regular state unemployment benefits will not have access, if needed, to those federal EUC extensions in 2013 — unless Congress acts.

This is a looming disaster we just cannot let happen.  Here’s how you can help right now.

For full information including acceptable story submissions and additional information on Unemployedworkers.org, please go here.

Register Now: Attend two free online trainings to get the tools you need to spread the word about tax credits in your community.

Rent, groceries, medical bills, car payments… and the list goes on. Life is expensive, but believe it or not, tax season can actually help! That’s because thousands of dollars are available as tax credits to many eligible families.

Unfortunately, millions of dollars of these federal and state tax credits go unclaimed each year. So if you work or volunteer in an organization that serves low- or moderate- income families, join us to find out just how you can help them learn about these opportunities.

Part I – Tax Credits: What Families Need to Know
Tuesday, October 16 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern
Register Here

This webinar will cover:

• Basic information about valuable federal and state tax credits for families, including:
- The federal EITC, which is worth up to $5,751 for low- and moderate-income families with children
- The federal Child Tax Credit, which is worth up to $1,000 per child
- The federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, which is worth up to $2,100 for families with child care expenses
- Similar state credits
• A few key tips for sharing information about tax credits with families

Part II – Tax Credits Outreach Made Easy: Tips & Tools for Advocates
Tuesday, October 23 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern
Register Here

This webinar will unveil NWLC’s brand-new, updated, easy-to-use Tax Credits Outreach Toolkit and will provide you with:

• Free outreach materials
• Information to help you connect with local coalitions
• Ways to find free tax preparation services in your community
• Some simple but successful techniques for spreading the word about tax credits

Register today! These webinars are free, but participants must register separately for each in advance. A recording of each webinar will be emailed to all registrants within a few days of its conclusion.

In addition to the webinars, you can also sign up to be one of our community partners. Community partners receive customized resources that make it easy to spread the word about tax credits to eligible families in your community, as well as technical assistance on issues relating to tax credits outreach activities.

We hope you can join us!

Source: National Women’s Law Center