Lawmakers are hiring a former state energy czar to pull together pieces of the energy puzzle before the legislative session starts on Jan. 19.

The Legislature will pay former Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority executive director Ron Miller up to $65,000, plus expenses, to act as a liaison between the committees focused on an energy policy. According to the contract, Miller will prepare a report and provide recommendations regarding a statewide energy plan. His work will be used to develop energy-related legislation.

House Speaker Mike Chenault, R-Nikiski, describes the plan in more specific terms: He wants an energy plan "that will actually work."

"Ron's been involved in a number of plans across the time quadrant of Alaska, and certainly has a lot of knowledge that would assist our energy committees in putting together an energy plan for the state, not one we take and put up on the shelf and forget about ... but one where, maybe, we can move the state forward," Chenault said.

The Legislative Council -- a powerful committee comprised of House and Senate leaders, with the authority to spend money and make decisions outside the regular session -- approved the contract last week at the request of Chenault and Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak.

Committees from both bodies spent most of the summer traveling around the state holding hearings on energy, and have independently come up with drafts -- an energy policy statement from the House committees, and a lengthy list of goals and recommendations from the Senate. Lawmakers leading both efforts have said their work will come together at some point. Miller, as a resource to both bodies, could be that link.

"It's my hope that the House and the Senate committees can come up with something that they both can somewhat agree on, that we can move forward with," Chenault said.

He figures it's likely an energy bill introduced during the upcoming session would incorporate other energy legislation left on the table in 2009.

"It'll probably be a conglomeration," Chenault said.

Lawmakers tinkered with dozens of energy-related proposals in the 2009 session, but approved few. Energy committee leaders instead turned their focus to hearings to gather information on various problems and solutions, and said they would take the interim to craft a far-reaching energy policy that would, in turn, help direct their actions on the more specific bills.

The only energy-related legislation to pass in 2009 involved funding for the Power Cost Equalization program and for low-income heating assistance. Still on the table are more than 30 proposals involving energy, including bills creating a state Department of Energy, banding together the Railbelt utilities for transmission and generation efficiencies, offering tax credits for renewable energy developments, and mandating energy efficiency in public buildings.

Miller was executive director of AIDEA for five years, during which he managed the Snettishham Hydroelectric Project and Healy Clean Coal Project. He oversaw final reports of the Alaska Energy Policy Task Force's 2003-2004 work, including policy statements, plans and recommendations.

He also served as director of the Alaska Energy Authority, which falls under the AIDEA umbrella. With Miller at the helm, AEA put out an Alaska Rural Energy Plan in 2005, and the Alaska Energy Atlas and the Alternative Energy and Energy Efficiency Assistance Plan in 2007.

Contact Rena Delbridge at rena_alaskadispatch.com.