18 days short of gas

and that's if this winter behaves itself.

That's the head of Enstar, saying it out loud to the state. His company heats more than 136,000 homes and businesses here.

Here's what 18 days short actually means. In a normal winter, there's 18 days worth of demand he can't cover out of Cook Inlet. That's not a price problem. The gas just isn't there.

So what does that actually look like? He said there isn't enough gas to prevent brownouts. And Chewgatch, the company that keeps the power on in Anchorage, has talked about cutting back the electricity it sends to customers.

We're a state sitting on gas. And the company that heats Anchorage is counting days.

If you heat with gas in Anchorage, the Valley, or on the Keenai, that's your winter. That's most of us.

Everything they're talking about is years out. Importing gas by ship, expanding Bradley Lake, a power cable under Cook Inlet. None of it gets done before it gets cold.

They hear from the gas companies again in September. Nothing gets written into law until January. So this winter happens either way.

What this actually does to your bill is the whole story. That's Thursday's newsletter. It's free, link's down below.