Unalaska, AK – The future of Unalaska's powerhouse, geothermal resources and how much you pay for electricity each month will all be on the table at a special City Council work session Thursday night.

The council will open up for public comment a plan to replace the powerhouse's current array of diesel generators will more efficient models that have been purchased and currently are in storage in Finland. The city recently obtained the permit it had sought from the state for the new engines, which city officials estimate will run as much as 30 percent more efficiently then the current system.

The council will also look at the utility rates charged to Unalaska residents by the city. Mayor Shirley Marquardt said its time to pick up where the city left off two years ago, when it raised utility rates but held off on a more significant increase to wait and see what happened with fuel prices.

The council also will address the possibility of a project to take advantage of Unalaska's geothermal resources, either on Makushin volcano or at the hot springs near Summer Bay, funded entirely by the city. Marquardt said that since negotiations to develop the Makushin resource with Iceland America Energy fell apart earlier this year, the city is interested in pursuing the project without an outside partner.

"I think we've had seven different developers come to us over the last 20 years, and developers have a completely different way of looking at a project," she said.

The council work session will convene at 7 p.m. Thursday.