The lower Kuskokwim River community of Akiak is without power due to a mechanical failure at the city’s power plant.
It is not immediately clear what caused the issue that has affected the community since late on the evening of Sept. 21.
Akiak City Council member Olinka Jones said that the city is working with the Alaska Energy Authority (AEA), a state-owned corporation that provides support for rural energy needs, to come up with a plan.
"We are working with AEA to get someone out here as soon as possible so that they could start working on the generator," Jones said.
AEA has also stepped in to assist Akiak during previous power failures, including a series of extended outages that affected the community in 2024.
Jones said that it is too early to gauge the potential impact of the power outage on frozen subsistence food. She estimated that around 75% of households in the 450-person community are currently making use of personal generators to keep freezers running.
Jones also confirmed that the community’s school and water treatment plant are on generator power and remain operational.
On the afternoon of Sept. 22, Jones said that the city had issued a disaster declaration. As of that evening, the state had not also issued a disaster declaration, which could trigger additional support.
In 2024, a former city administrator told KYUK that local municipal and tribal officials had asked for a state disaster declaration, but were denied due to the fact that the issue was a mechanical and maintenance failure and not a natural disaster.
Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson with the Alaska Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said that whether Akiak receives a state disaster declaration for its ongoing outage will come down to whether it meets the legal requirements.
"The damages would have to be eligible under our disaster statutes for the state of Alaska. Things like deferred maintenance or maintenance that wasn't completed is typically not eligible for our disaster recovery programs," Zidek said.
Zidek said that there may be other ways the state can help and that state emergency responders are in contact with Akiak officials, as well as with the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation and the regional Native corporation.