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Chugach Support Services Inc history
Chugach Support Services Inc company history timeline
1925 The M/V Chugach is a historic ranger boat currently dry-docked in the Wrangell Marine Service Center boat yard, in Wrangell, Alaska.
Designed by Seattle-based boat designer, L. H. Coolidge, she launched in Seattle in 1925 and was in service until recently; transporting scientists, government officials, supplies, and guests throughout the areas administered by the Forest Service in Southcentral and Southeast Alaska.
M/V Chugach Ranger Boat in icy waters, 1928.
But what Anchorage lacked in amenities and electrical power during the 1940's, it more than made up for with the power of innovation and commitment to the city's future. It was that resolute spirit and strong vision that brought 200 people together in August of 1947 to form a cooperative to bring power to their homes and businesses.
By 1947, the shortage of electricity was so critical the city purchased the stern half of a wrecked ocean-going tanker, the Sackett's Harbor, in a desperate attempt to meet demand.
On March 1, 1948, Chugach Electric was incorporated as an REA (Rural Electrification Administration) cooperative.
1953: Chugach begins selling power to the Matanuska Electric Association to meet growing demand for electricity in the Mat-Su Valley.
First based in Cordova, the M/V Chugach was relocated to Petersburg in 1953.
1954: Chugach opens new offices at 8th and Gambell in Anchorage.
1955: The Cooper Lake power plant application is approved by the Federal Power Commission.
At least one crew member of the Chugach lost his supper on the storm-tossed waters, but before a heroic rescue could be achieved, the Estella got her motors running again and limped into the Bay of Pillars. -from SourDough Notes, August 1956
1957:Chugach opens a modern appliance store in Anchorage to help serve its customers with the latest electrical appliances and affordable 4% financing.
1958: Chugach energizes the first section of the new Portage power line.
In the years leading up to statehood in 1959, Chugach delivered the energy for growth, forging new partnerships and expanding generation and distribution capabilities.
1959: As a member of ARECA (Alaska Rural Electric Cooperative Association), Chugach lends its support to the Bradley Lake hydroelectric project.
1962: With the completion of the transmission line between the Kenai Peninsula and Anchorage, power flows from Cooper Lake to Anchorage for the first time.
1963: Chugach dedicates the 7.8-megawatt gas turbine Bernice Lake power plant.
In 1964, just months after the most devastating earthquake in North America's modern history, Chugach began negotiating long-term natural gas contracts at Beluga.
1967: Chugach converted Knik Arm's coal boilers to natural gas.
In March of 1968, the first power from two 15.7-megawatt units at Chugach's modern, new gas-fired power plant at Beluga flowed into Anchorage.
A third 18.5-megawatt unit is added to the International plant in 1969 in anticipation of the region's growing energy demands.
1970-75: Throughout the 70's, Chugach continued to meet and anticipate - Alaska's extraordinary growth.
Chugach Alaska Corporation (CAC) is one of the most successful of the 12 Alaska Native Regional Corporations that were formed in 1971 as part of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
ANCSA and the Creation of CAC: 1971
A second 19- megawatt gas-fired turbine was added at Bernice Lake in 1971, and a second set of underwater cables added between Pt.
In 1972, the largest turbine at the time, a 55-megawatt gas-fired unit was installed at Beluga.
In 1973, members of the Chugach Natives Incorporated (CNI) Board of Directors met and decided to form a non-profit corporation to advance the overall economic, social and cultural development of the people of the Chugach Region.
In 1974, the North Pacific Rim Native Corporation was incorporated as a not-for-profit to serve the Natives of the communities of Chenega Bay, Cordova, English Bay, Port Graham, Seward, Tatitlek, and Valdez.
The initial Executive Director, Archie Gottschalk, began in 1974.
1978: Chugach added two more gas turbines to its system: a 74-megawatt unit at Beluga and a 27.5-megawatt unit at Bernice Lake.
The 1980's saw Anchorage's population bulge to nearly a quarter million residents at the height of the oil boom.
1980: Chugach installed its eighth and final unit at Beluga, a 55-megawatt unit that created "free" electricity by running on steam generated by two other units.
1981: Chugach installed a fourth unit at Bernice Lake, a 27.5-megawatt unit that brought the plant's capacity to 81.8 megawatts.
A worldwide salmon glut proved particularly harmful to the fisheries-dependent CAC. A fire at one of its canneries in Prince William Sound and a botulism scare at another in 1982 also hurt the company.
1983: Following several years of serious revenue deficits, Chugach rebounded owing in part to a long overdue rate increase instituted the previous year.
In 1985, two Native corporations failed and were forced into bankruptcy.
1985: Chugach completed construction and implementation of the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) project.
Also in 1985, power began flowing from Anchorage over the new intertie completed by the Alaska Power Authority linking Anchorage and Fairbanks.
CAC obtained $54 million in 1986 from the sale of its net operating losses.
In 1986, the company made plans to begin harvesting timber on its land on the remote Montague Island.
Hoping to capitalize on the positive trends in this sector, CAC purchased another cannery in 1987 on Kodiak Island.
1987-88: Chugach began intensive systemwide maintenance of turbines and generators, including the overhaul of units at Bernice Lake, Cooper Lake and Beluga.
Chugach completes first timber sale, declares first shareholder dividend in January 1988.
Nineteen eighty-six was "a year in which the mistakes and losses of the past were corrected and reversed but not forgotten," CAC's president and CEO Michael Chittick told the Alaska Journal of Commerce in 1988.
In 1988, CAC approved construction of a new sawmill, which had the capacity to produce kiln-dried dimensional lumber, in Seward.
CAC suffered a huge setback in 1989 when the Valdez, an Exxon oil tanker, ran aground in Prince William Sound, spilling 11.7 million gallons of crude oil into the pristine waters where CAC carried out its commercial fishing.
CAC's new strategy began to pay off in 1994, when the company won two contracts with the United States government.
1994: CAC secures its first base operation services contract.
However, as the Alaska Journal of Commerce noted in 1996, mining was subject to the same pitfalls as fishing and timber.
By 1996, CAC had paid down its debts to $4 million and had a backlog of $300 million in contracts.
1996: Partially CAC-owned venture, Kansas Telecom, wins Alyeska Pipeline contract.
However, CAC was resolute, viewing the matter as one of sovereignty rather than payment. "What this is really about is the federal government keeping its promises," CAC's Brown told National Wildlife in 1999.
In 1999, another of CAC's government services-oriented subsidiaries, Chugach Management Services (CMS), won a base maintenance contract at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico, worth $170 million.
Michael Brown left his post in 1999 and was ultimately replaced by Barney Uhart, who continued his predecessor's business plan.
In 2000, the company paid out a dividend to its shareholders for the first time in 11 years and increased the dividend payment annually thereafter.
2000: CAC obtains easement to access timber stands in Carbon Mountain tract.
CAC won its most significant government services contract in 2002, when it teamed with Lockheed Martin and Bechtel to provide support services for the missile-testing site on the island of Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands.
Revenues for 2002 topped $355 million, a jump of 28 percent from the previous year.
In 2003, Chugach McKinley won a five-month contract to take over construction operations at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
The company's future looked bright. "There are a lot new things on the horizon," Uhart told the Alaska Journal of Commerce in 2003. "Actually business couldn't be better.
The 2019 Chugach Lands Study Act passage opens the door for a potential land exchange opportunity.
© 2022 Chugach Alaska Corporation.
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