Not a big deal, there is so much hot air down there to power any sort of power system anyway. They are making it into a crisis because it is the Capital.
If they were really interested in doing a quick patch, they could just use a helo and string new cables and build quick towers with tripod poles setup on the rock ridges (drilled rods into the rock to anchor the base) to get by, but it is much more impressive to go into panic mode and look like it is something the politicians can fix with rebates and all...
Besides, they used the diesel Generators for years before the Hydro plant was built.... The generators needed to be tested anyway, and the fuel sitting in the Storage tanks was bought at about a buck a gallon to boot, so they shouldn't get nailed too hard right off the bat...
Courtesy of Alaska Electric Light and Power
A massive avalanche April 16, 2008, near Juneau took out more than a mile of the transmission lines for hydroelectric power into Juneau. There is an intact transmission tower in the background of the photo (left, on the ridge) and leading toward the camera is the transmission clearing, which disappears into part of the slide area.
