Exploring beneficial electrification throughout Alaska
ACEP summer intern Dana Hogan enjoys the Arctic sunshine in Kotzebue, Alaska, after a day of surveying residents of the village.
September 25, 2025
Dana Hogan, a junior electrical engineering student at the University of Alaska Anchorage, worked on as part of her 2025 ACEP undergraduate summer internship.
Hogan focused on two projects under the supervision of Michelle Wilber, a research engineer leading the Grid Edge research team at ACEP.
The first project explored household value placed on reliable electricity in Kotzebue, Alaska. She asked residents questions about the value they place on reliable energy services in their homes. This survey included specific questions about hot water heating, building heat, food storage and vehicle reliability.
ACEP survey displayed at the ReCharge Alaska EV charging station located at Chugach Electric Association Headquarters in Anchorage, Alaska.
The responses are a step in a larger study for the U.S. Department of Energy-funded and Stanford University-led project. The study aims at developing an economic optimization algorithm for a theoretical HomeChoice system designed to align the energy used with the conditions of a variety of energy resources that supply energy. HomeChoice is a home energy management system that monitors and controls energy generation, storage and consumption in a household. The HomeChoice system is being designed to manage energy load and consumption for buildings in isolated microgrids in Alaska.
Hogan鈥檚 second project involved surveys to assess public experiences with electric vehicle charging stations in and around Anchorage. She conducted the surveys as a step towards understanding local electric vehicle supply equipment use and the impacts of public vehicle charging on car owners, nearby businesses and the community.
Hogan鈥檚 work was part of the -led program. She organized and packaged the responses, making them usable by a statewide team in siting and determining the impacts of charging station deployment on populations and communities in Alaska.
ACEP survey displayed at the Chugach Electric Association Headquarters electric vehicle charger information board in Anchorage, Alaska.
Through both projects, Hogan gained a valuable look behind the scenes of research efforts.
鈥淚鈥檓 amazed by the number of dedicated people it takes to bring these projects to life,鈥 she noted.
She now has a deep appreciation for the patience, expertise and resilience of the research teams.
鈥淭his experience has opened my eyes to the often-unseen work that drives impactful studies. It has inspired me to contribute meaningfully to Alaska鈥檚 energy transition,鈥 she said.
This internship was funded by the through the ACEP Undergraduate Summer Internship program. View the on ACEP鈥檚 YouTube channel. For more information on this project contact Michelle Wilber at mmwilber@alaska.edu.