GVEA Board Meeting Recap

Nominating Committees

The Board approved the proposed 2027 Nominating Committee participants for District 4 and authorized staff to proceed with training for the two District 7 applicants while continuing recruitment efforts.

GVEA's bylaws require a minimum of three members on each Nominating Committee. Staff will continue outreach to identify at least one additional District 7 applicant, with the completed committee expected to return to the Board for formal approval at the October meeting.

Member Education & Comments

No members provided comments during the member comment portion of the meeting.

CEO & Financial Report - Travis Million, President & CEO

Member Assistance Program Update

Travis provided an update on the new Member Assistance Program (MAP), which launched earlier this month. GVEA has received 20 applications to date, with 10 approved for assistance, distributing a total of $5,430.

Travis noted that the most common reason for declined applicationshas been that the member's account was not in delinquent status, which is a requirement for MAP eligibility.

National Laboratory of the Rockies Advisory Board

Travis shared that he was nominated and accepted a position on the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) External Advisory Committee. The role will involve participating in strategic planning and is expected to require only a few days of service each year.

Delta Wind Update

Travis provided an update on the Delta Wind project from Ameresco. The project team continues to work through the eagle take permitting process and is nearing completion of its first full year of work on the project. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) permitting process is also progressing.The next step will be to formalize a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Board to review.

LM6000 Recommendation Update

Travis provided an update on the recommendation regarding an additional LM6000 generation unit. Directors asked questions following the presentation as they continued their review of GVEA's future generation needs.

PACE Battery Energy Storage Project

Director Phil Wight asked for an update on contracts associated with the Powering Affordable Clean Energy (PACE) battery energy storage project.

Nathan Minnema, Chief Operating Officer, explained that staff are working through several agreements, including a long-term service agreement for the batteries, a procurement contract covering the inverters, batteries and control system, and an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract covering the design and construction of the remaining project components.

On the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) side, GVEA is awaiting signed contracts and is working toward having the agreements finalized for the October Board meeting.

Nathan also discussed the project's dual transmission interconnection arrangement. He said the redundancy has been viewed positively by the project's underwriter and risk assessor and provides an additional reliability benefit.

Bidwell Solar Project

Director Gary Newman asked about progress toward a Power Purchase Agreement for solar generation at the Bidwell site.

Nathan said GVEA has had discussions with Renewable Energy Systems (RES) but does not currently have a PPA drafted. RES has since been acquired by Aleut Energy.

Administrative Committee Recommendations

The Board considered several recommendations from the Administrative Committee, including proposed updates to GVEA policies governing employee benefits, Board operations, safety, capital credits, right-of-way maintenance and member assistance.

Policy 1.4 - Identity Theft Prevention

The Board approved an update to Policy 1.4, assigning the Division Executive of Information Technology overall compliance responsibility for GVEA's Identity Theft Prevention Program.

Policy 2.4.1 - Notice of Meetings and Workshops

The Board approved revisions to Policy 2.4.1, clarifying notice requirements for regular and special Board meetings and Board workshops. .

Policy 2.8.4 - Director Meeting Attendance

The Board approved revisions to Policy 2.8.4, clarifying Board director attendance requirements.

Under the policy, a majority of the Board may declare a vacancy if a director fails, without good cause, to attend regular Board meetings for two consecutive months or misses 25% or more of regular Board meetings during a calendar year. Policy 3.5 - Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunities

The Board approved updates to Policy 3.5, Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunities.

Policy 3.6 - Employee Benefits

The Board approved revisions to Policy 3.6 clarifying the benefits applicable to non-bargaining employees and the relationship between GVEA's benefit policies and collective bargaining agreements.

Policy 3.6.3 - Executive Employee Benefits

The Board approved an update to Policy 3.6.3 addressing administration of the Executive Deferred Compensation Plan.

Policy 3.9 - Safety Program

The Board approved revisions to Policy 3.9 clarifying responsibilities within GVEA's safety program.

Policy 3.10.1 - Honorable Service Recognition

The Board approved revisions to Policy 3.10.1 updating the dollar amounts available for employee honorable service recognition based on years of service.

Policy 5.3 - Capital Credits

The Board approved revisions to Policy 5.3 clarifying that abandoned capital credits, subject to Board approval, may be used to fund GVEA's scholarship program, foundation operating expenses, Member Assistance Program or permanent equity.

Policy 6.5 - Power Line Right-of-Way Maintenance

The Board approved revisions to Policy 6.5 clarifying GVEA's and landowners' respective responsibilities for right-of-way maintenance.

The revised policy specifies that GVEA will employ a ground-to-sky, multi-method approach to right-of-way maintenance, using manual, mechanical and chemical methods as appropriate.

Policy 8.4 - Member Assistance Program

The Board approved a new Policy 8.4 formally establishing GVEA's Member Assistance Program.

Finance, Audit & Rate Committee Recommendations

Healy Substation Transformer 7 Budget Adjustment

The Board approved a $2.5 million capital budget adjustment for Healy Substation Transformer 7. The investment will support improvements to critical infrastructure.

Directors spoke in support of maintaining and modernizing the system to ensure continued reliability.

The Board unanimously approved the motion.

Highway Park Substation Budget Adjustment

The Board approved a $2.4 million budget adjustment for steel associated with the Highway Park Substation project.

Nathan Minnema explained that GVEA has a firm bid for the steel and that securing the material now is important because of lead times. Staff will continue working toward bidding the remainder of the project, with additional construction costs to follow.

The Board unanimously approved the motion.

Retirement of Capital Credits

The Board approved the retirement of $4 million in capital credits from 2001.

Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Villalon, provided information on how the retirement of capital credits affects GVEA's equity.

The Board unanimously approved the motion.

Bradley Lake Expansion Project

Travis provided an update on the Bradley Lake Expansion Project following a recent meeting of the Bradley Lake Project Management Committee (BPMC).

The BPMC met September 11 to review a proposed resolution regarding the initial round of financing for the project. Following discussion among the participating utilities, concerns were raised about the level of risk associated with the proposed $150 million in initial financing.

A revised version of the resolution is now being circulated among the utilities. The revisions address several of the financial risk concerns and would establish additional approval requirements, or "stage gates," before certain funds could be drawn. The revised approach also calls for additional cost estimating and further clarification regarding the project's classification as required project works.

The resolution is expected to continue moving through the utility review process, with additional discussion and action anticipated as the participating utilities consider the revised financing approach.

Prepaid Billing Program

GVEA's new Prepaid Billing Program will give eligible residential members more flexibility and control over their electric accounts, allowing them to pay for electricity in advance, monitor daily usage and see how much credit remains on their account.

Melissa Connor, Member Services Manager, and Daniel Heckman, Regulatory Manager, presented the voluntary program, which is expected to be available to members by the end of November, pending Regulatory Commission of Alaska approval.

Key features include:

• Members will make an initial payment of at least $100 and can add funds to their account at any time.
• Members will receive daily usage information and low-balance alerts through MyGVEA.
• Members will not receive paper bills while enrolled.
• Members will not be charged a deposit or reconnect fee while participating, as long as the account remains open.
• Members with an existing balance may establish an alternative payment arrangement to pay it over time before enrolling.
• If an account reaches a zero balance and is disconnected, a $100 credit balance is required to restore service, with power automatically restored once the payment is made.
• Tenants may participate with landlord approval.
• The program is not available to members with medical necessity accounts or net metering accounts.
• GVEA plans to test the program with employees in October and train staff in November, with a member launch anticipated by the end of November, pending RCA approval.

Energy Emergency Alerts & Member Communication

Abby Dillard, Chief Administrative Officer and Ashley Bradish, Director of External Affairs and Public Relations, presented an update on GVEA's Energy Emergency Alerts (EEA) communication plan.

The EEA communication strategy is designed to:

• Provide members with clear, timely information about changing grid conditions.
• Give members practical conservation guidance when it is needed most.
• Establish defined triggers, messages and communication channels for each alert level.
• Provide escalating notifications before controlled load shedding becomes necessary.
• Maintain a central, easy-to-find source for current system status and member guidance.

Ashley reported that GVEA has experienced 15 Level 1 events since March of 2026, and five Level 2 events since January.

Abby shared that GVEA filed its EEA plan with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska on September 15. Staff are working with the engineering team to add alert zones to GVEA's outage map and with the member services team to add zone information to members' bills.

GVEA's Public Relations team will also proactively communicate the EEA system and what members should know about each alert level.

Board Actions

• Approved the 2027 compensation recommendation for non-bargaining employees.
• Approved updates to Policy 1.4, Identity Theft Prevention.
• Approved updates to Policy 2.4.1, Notice of Meetings and Workshops.
• Approved updates to Policy 2.8.4, Director Meeting Attendance.
• Approved updates to Policy 3.5, Affirmative Action and Equal Employment Opportunities.
• Approved updates to Policy 3.6, Employee Benefits.
• Approved updates to Policy 3.6.3, Executive Employee Benefits.
• Approved updates to Policy 3.9, Safety Program.
• Approved updates to Policy 3.10.1, Honorable Service Recognition.
• Approved updates to Policy 5.3, Capital Credits.
• Approved updates to Policy 6.5, Power Line Right-of-Way Maintenance.
• Approved Policy 8.4, Member Assistance Program.
• Approved the Healy T7 budget adjustment.
• Approved the Highway Park Substation budget adjustment.
• Approved Resolution No. 108-26, retiring 2001 capital credits.

The Board of Directors meetings and materials are available online.

To learn more about upcoming board meetings and how to attend, visit the Board of Directors page on GVEA's website.