Even after passing legislation to address fuel price hikes, recent reporting shows Alaska leaders sounding the alarm that the Dan Sullivan-supported war in Iran could create a “crisis” for rural Alaskans – spiking prices out of reach and threatening shortages.
“Self-Serving Sullivan’s price-hiking agenda is literally causing a life or death crisis for rural Alaskans who may not be able to afford to heat their homes next winter, and who are already struggling to afford groceries and fuel,” said Alaska Democratic Party Chair Eric Croft. “He’s voted repeatedly to continue the war that’s raising prices, and he’s insulted Alaskans by saying this life or death issue is just an ‘externality.’ It’s shameful and disqualifying.”
According to the report, Alaska leaders have warned of an “energy crisis of extraordinary and unprecedented scale” in rural Alaska — a “life and death” situation driven by the Iran war Sullivan has championed.
While rural Alaskans brace for skyrocketing prices and the potential of spending next winter with no heating fuel, Dan Sullivan is repeatedly voting in support of the war, asking for “gas money” from the very constituents he’s leaving out in the cold, and dismissing Alaskans’ energy costs as mere “externalities” to his campaign.
KTUU: Rural fuel crisis: Alaska passes fuel loan expansion, but lawmakers warn it won’t be enough
May 20, 2026
As rural Alaska faces soaring fuel prices and the threat of shortages; lawmakers say a crisis is on the horizon.
The Senate unanimously passed a bill expanding the Bulk Fuel Loan program Wednesday, the last day of its regular session, sending it to the governor, but lawmakers are clear: this legislation alone won’t avert the crisis.
“The bulk fuel loan is only that. It’s only a loan,” Rep. Ky Holland, NA-Anchorage, previously told Alaska’s News Source. “The cost of that fuel will turn into rates and into charges in local communities. Folks will have to pay that in terms of their utility bills or when they purchase fuel.”
Disruption to the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for 20% of global oil and gas, has sent fuel prices soaring. The war in Iran continues to threaten fuel shortages in rural Alaska.
“No matter how much we can do, the levers we can pull, the programs we can fund, we’re not going to be able to meet this thing head-on,” House Speaker Bryce Edgmon, NA-Dillingham, told the House Energy committee in April. “If the worst outcome materializes … that really keeps me awake at night.”
With state lawmakers saying there’s little they can do, the House Majority caucus has called on the federal government for help — help they argue could be the difference between life and death.
“The state is facing an energy crisis of extraordinary and unprecedented scale,” an Alaska House Majority letter, signed by all caucus members, to the congressional delegation reads.
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