Washington Pitches $150M Alaska Grid Plan as Senate Race Tightens

By Staff, Agencies

The Trump administration is preparing to announce $150 million in federal funding for Alaska’s electricity network as Vice President JD Vance visits the state to campaign for vulnerable Republican Senator Dan Sullivan, with voters increasingly focused on high fuel prices and the US war on Iran, Reuters reported Monday.

The funding announcement comes as Republicans seek to retain Sullivan’s seat against Democratic challenger Mary Peltola, in a race that could affect Democrats’ efforts to regain Senate control in November.

A New York Times poll completed October 1 showed Peltola seven points ahead, although other surveys indicate a tight contest. Alaska’s dispersed population and remote communities make polling particularly difficult.

Meanwhile, the Energy Department funding would contribute to a $400 million project involving 223 miles [359 kilometers] of transmission lines linking the coastal Beluga power station to Healy in the state’s interior.

The route crosses a corridor containing major ports and areas inhabited by nearly three-quarters of Alaska’s roughly 735,000 residents.

Energy costs and household affordability have emerged as key campaign issues, with the candidates offering different approaches to expanding Alaska’s energy sector.

Sullivan supports opening protected wilderness to oil and gas extraction and has urged Trump to ban diesel exports amid economic pressures linked to the wars involving Iran and Ukraine.

By contrast, Peltola supports expanding oil and natural gas processing while opposing extraction in environmentally sensitive wilderness. She also backs federal tax incentives for wind, solar and hydropower development.

The announcement also follows Trump’s promotion of a proposed $200 billion South Korean investment package for US projects, including a separate LNG pipeline in Alaska.

Seoul has since stressed that its participation depends on commercial and legal conditions being met, leaving its backing for the pipeline conditional as the administration highlights energy investments ahead of the elections.