Suzanne Gibson, senior director of energy development for Cook Inlet Region Inc., said the independent power producer had to cancel construction and shipping contracts that would have added 11 wind turbines to Anchorage's Fire Island. Gibson said Fire Island Wind was offering to sell power from Phase 2 of the project for 6.2 cents a kilowatt-hour, slightly higher than the cost of gas-fired power generation but less than the project's 9.7-cent rate for Phase 1. The first phase of the project was approved in 2011 after contentious Regulatory Commission of Alaska meetings in which the Alaska Department of Law and Anchorage's Municipal Light and Power argued buying the power would cost ratepayers more over the long run. Chugach Electric Association eventually signed onto the project with a 25-year contract to buy power at 9.7 cents a kilowatt-hour. CIRI has contended that despite the higher initial cost of wind power, the cost of gas power will likely increase in coming years, making wind-powered electricity more economical in the long run. Chugach spokesman Phil Steyer said that when the utility signed onto the project in 2011 it concluded that the amount of power being provided was "about as big as we could handle" in terms of regulating it. The company completed some work at the end of 2013, starting construction on roads to the new turbine sites and digging foundations in order to take advantage of $15 million in tax credits from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.