The Alaska Energy Authority (AEA) owns the Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Project, the largest hydroelectric facility in the state. Located near Homer, Alaska, the 120-megawatt (MW) facility generates about 10 percent of the total annual power used by Railbelt electric utilities at some of the lowest-cost power to more than 550,000 Alaskans. From 1995 through 2020, the Project averaged 392,000 MWh annually at $0.04 per kilowatt-hour.
The Bradley Lake Hydroelectric Project is located 27-air miles northeast of Homer on the Kenai Peninsula and has 120 MW of installed capacity. The project consists of a 125-foot high concrete-faced, rock-filled dam structure, four diversion structures, a 3.5-mile long power tunnel and vertical shaft, generating plant, interior substation, 20 miles of transmission line, and substation. The power generation potential of Bradley Lake was first studied by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1955. The Project was authorized by Congress in 1962. AEA, then the Alaska Power Authority, assumed responsibility for the project in 1982. Planning, fieldwork, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensing, construction, the creation of the Bradley Lake Project Management Committee (BPMC), and a Power Sales Agreement between AEA and Railbelt utilities followed. The Project was funded through legislative appropriations and AEA revenue bonds that are paid by the participating utilities. BPMC manages the Project, subject to AEA’s non-delegable rights, duties, and responsibilities.
Completed in 1991
$400 Million