Nearly 400,000 Alaskans rely on the resources in the Cook Inlet to heat their homes and their businesses. The problem is, there's a dwindling supply of natural gas; about eight years' worth, to be exact.

"It's absolutely essential that we understand clearly what we need to do," said Anchorage Assembly vice chair Sheila Selkregg. "We'd get a short term plan, long term plan to secure good sources of energy to make sure we can keep our houses warm and our lights on."

The first order of business is to understand exactly what the problem is, which is why the Community and Economic Development Committee met Friday at City Hall.

"What if we had an extended period of time where there were a few days at 20 below zero?" said Tony Rizzo, co-chair of the Energy Work Group. "That's not an uncommon prospect for this region, for where we live. Would we have enough to draw on?"

Experts say if we were to completely run out, it would take a full month to power everything back on.

"I don't want to be an alarmist, but I've got to be a realist," Rizzo said. "It's happened a couple of times, where things have come really close."

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