JUNEAU, Alaska, April 17 (UPI) -- Electricity bills in Juneau, Alaska, may go up 500 percent next month due to an avalanche that cut off much of the city's hydroelectric power, officials said.
Juneau's electricity will have to be powered by diesel because of damages from the Wednesday avalanche, the Juno (Alaska) Empire reported.
"All of a sudden, we'll have rates that look like rural communities across the state," said Gayle Wood, director of consumer affairs at Alaska Electric Light & Power Co.
Problems began when the transmission line coming from the Snettisham Power House to Juneau was taken down.
Alaska Electric Light & Power found that five out of seven transmission towers were damaged. One had come down entirely.
"It's just a terrible place to have a transmission line. Those are straight-up-and-down cliffs," said Alaska Electric Light & Power General Manager Tim McLeod.
Residents' electricity costs are predicted to rise to 50 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared to the present cost of 11 cents per kilowatt-hour, Wood said.
