Bridging Alaska energy data gaps
ACEP summer intern Liam England gives a presentation on his project.
September 27, 2025
Every reliable dataset starts with the unglamorous but essential work of cleaning and connecting fragmented data into a cohesive whole.
This summer, ACEP intern Liam England created and compiled a new geospatial dataset on energy data in Alaska under the guidance of Ian MacDougall, a data analyst on ACEP鈥檚 Research Technology Infrastructure team.
involved building a data pipeline to create a single statewide dataset that contains the service areas of every electric utility that the has granted a certificate to. He then added the new dataset into the , or AEDG, which ACEP is developing with support from the State of Alaska.
England has a keen interest in GIS, short for geographic information systems 鈥 computer systems that analyze and display data related to geographic locations on Earth. Drawing on his background in GIS, England worked with MacDougall to improve the AEDG.
England鈥檚 work addressed a critical gap in available energy data in Alaska. The Regulatory Commission of Alaska only provides individual service area files, or maps, for each of the state鈥檚 more than 100 electric utilities. England gathered and cleaned this separated data, identified and documented data quality issues and combined the service areas into a single, comprehensive dataset, now accessible to researchers, communities and the public.
Interns form a human pyramid outside the Usibelli Learning and Innovation Building on the 51风流官网 Troth Yeddah鈥 campus. Pictured (L-R): Glen Ankney, Elliott Lewandowski, Matteo Kuizenga (bottom row), Mackenzie Martin, Emily Cook (middle row), Liam England.
With this dataset now integrated into the AEDG, users will be able to view maps of a utility鈥檚 service area on each community鈥檚 summary page. They can now filter the data to a single service area, selecting only power plants within a service area. This is a major step forward, as this upgrade helps to ensure that the AEDG stays useful and reliable as the state's electric utilities change in the future.
A computer science major and geography minor at the University of Georgia, England is passionate about GIS, has worked as a GIS intern at his university and plans to earn a certificate in GIS. In fact, his interest in GIS and in pursuing a career in the public sector led him to apply to the ACEP summer internship program.
England鈥檚 project, which blended elements of computer science, data engineering and geospatial analysis to tackle a real-world data challenge, gave him a valuable opportunity to explore his interests across the fields of open data, computer science and GIS.
England hopes to pursue a career where he can apply his background in these areas.
鈥淭his internship gave me a firsthand experience into what such a role would be like,鈥 he said.
ACEP summer intern Liam England, third from left, poses for a group photo with his fellow interns before the Midnight Sun Run on June 21, 2025, in Fairbanks, Alaska.
England said he did not know much about Alaska, the Railbelt, microgrids and other aspects of its unique energy landscape before his internship this summer.
鈥淚t is particularly meaningful that my work this summer will have a role in addressing the challenges facing rural Alaska communities by expanding access to critical energy data and knowledge,鈥 he said.
This internship was funded by the U.S. through ACEP鈥檚 Research Experiences for Undergraduates program. View the on ACEP鈥檚 YouTube channel. For more information on this project, contact Ian MacDougall at iamacdougall@alaska.edu.