U.S. Plans to Invest $150 Million to Build a 359-Kilometer Transmission Line in Alaska

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 5, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a federal funding support plan for the Beluga–Healy transmission line project in Alaska, proposing to provide up to $150 million under the Defense Production Act to build a second high-voltage transmission corridor connecting south-central Alaska with the interior region. The project is being advanced by the Alaska Energy Authority, with an initial planned total investment of approximately $418 million, of which about $268 million is non-federal funding, and proposes to build 223 miles (approximately 359 kilometers) of new transmission line.

The line will connect the Beluga power facility in southern Alaska with the Healy area in the interior, adding a north-south transmission corridor to the existing Railbelt grid. Once completed, grid operators will be able to dispatch power between the south-central and interior regions through the new line, serving major population centers and military facilities around Anchorage and Fairbanks, covering approximately 75% of Alaska's population.

The proposed federal funding comes from special energy infrastructure funds arranged by the U.S. government under the Defense Production Act. The total scale of the relevant federal appropriation is $1 billion, applicable to transmission lines, conductors, substations, and power control and protection equipment. The U.S. Department of Energy has included the project within the scope of energy infrastructure support related to national security.

The Alaska Energy Authority has included the new Beluga-to-Healy transmission corridor in the state-level long-term plan for the Railbelt grid. In its 2026 energy planning document, the agency listed it as a central-to-northern grid interconnection project, to be implemented together with the existing Anchorage-to-Fairbanks transmission line upgrade project. The project still requires progress in engineering design, route permitting, and securing construction funding, with construction expected to take place after 2030.