North Slope utility deal draws scrutiny amid Crum conflict questions

A North Slope utility pitch built around Prudhoe Bay gas and power-hungry AI data centers is drawing fresh scrutiny because it sits inside the same investor web that helped former Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum steer more than $80 million in state contracts. The project, North Slope Power, was presented by the North Slope Borough and Twenty First Century Utilities at CERAWeek in March 2026 as a next-generation utility that could also send electricity south into the Railbelt grid.

For North Slope residents, the stakes are more than abstract. The borough already operates power generation and distribution systems in all seven villages, and any new industrial utility built around local gas would sit close to the public infrastructure that keeps homes, schools, and village services running. North Slope Power is being marketed as a way to tap more than 35 trillion cubic feet of proven North Slope natural gas reserves, with electricity aimed at colocated AI data centers and industrial load. Alaska Gasline Development Corporation says the North Slope also holds another 200 trillion cubic feet of potential gas resources, while the U.S. Energy Information Administration says Alaska had about 125 trillion cubic feet of proved reserves in 2024, with most production still not brought to market.

The same investor network has already raised questions in Juneau. New documents show Crum had a close relationship with technology and energy investors before he helped steer state business their way. Saige Consulting, one of the companies tied to Peter Corsell, sponsored a glacier cruise for a Republican state treasurer conference that Crum hosted in September 2024 while it was actively bidding on work with the Department of Revenue. Crum later awarded Saige two contracts worth $8.5 million. The broader reporting says he also pushed ahead with private equity investments for state rainy day funds, despite internal protocols and advice from Treasury advisers.

Corsell is identified by CERAWeek as cofounder and managing partner of Twenty First Century Utilities, and the firm says it partnered with the North Slope Borough to create North Slope Power. The same corporate circle also includes I Squared Capital, which CERAWeek says manages more than $50 billion in assets. Alaska Public Media reported in October 2025 that Crum had committed $50 million from the Constitutional Budget Reserve to DigitalBridge shortly before leaving office, and lawmakers later questioned the move. Crum, who became revenue commissioner in 2022 after leading the Department of Health and Social Services, now leaves behind a record that links state contracting, outside investors, and a North Slope energy plan with consequences that could shape public power and industrial development for years.