JUNEAU – Eaglecrest Ski area won't be getting its new chairlifts this year – the ski resort is holding off until a new power source is installed.

The Douglas Island FAA Transmitter is getting a $2.8-million upgrade and that transmitter that sits on top of the ski resort will provide power to the resort once it's upgraded.

Eaglecrest currently runs on Hydro-power for eight months out of the year and it runs off a diesel generator in the winter months.

Since there's a strong possibility of getting a new electrical power source, Eaglecrest decided to hold off on installing its new chairlifts, until the project is completed.

Eaglecrest General Manager, Kirk Duncan, said that “We are going to do the refurbishment and the repainting and anything we need to do over the winter, so that will be good and we're actually saving considerable amount of money because we don't have to convert them over to diesel direct driving and then back to electric, so we anticipate that this is very, very good thing for Eaglecrest all the way around.”

The new chairlifts were supposed to be up and running this fall, and now it looks like that will be delayed until November of 2008.

Reported by: Christina Grande