text: This idea of Senator Hoffman starts a debate that has bedeviled most of our Rural and Remote Villages for 50 years. High cost energy. This is an opportunity to look at regional grids to be ready to accept energy that could be provided by the Donlin mine using natural gas. High cost energy for villages across Alaska is one of the biggest obstacles to economic development along with very high transportation costs. This proposed legislation deserves further debate and will hopefully become a catalyst for lowering the cost of energy in Rural and Remote Alaska.