“Times have changed,” Thomas said. “Energy costs have skyrocketed. The Railbelt population has, and continues, to boom. I believe the time has come to revisit the potential for a smaller-scale Susitna project with potential expansion, one that could supply the vast majority of the Railbelt’s population with clean, cheap, reliable power.”

Two other Interior senators, Sen. Gary Wilken, R-Fairbanks, and Sen. Gene Therriault, R-North Pole, have joined Thomas in supporting a new look at Susitna. A Susitna hydro project would allow dwindling natural gas reserves in the Cook Inlet region to support other industries, Thomas said.

“Alaska faces having to replace the combustion turbines in all of our coal power plants within the next 10 years at a potential cost of more than $2 billion. If we act now we can use that money to guarantee our energy sources for generations to come,” Thomas said.