laskans are accustomed to rolling up to local shops and buying the heating devices they need. Among the most popular are Toyo stoves, Rinnai gas furnaces, and maximum efficiency water heaters. But getting those units into retail stores that can’t afford to maintain large inventories of products requires an in-state supplier, one that can keep stores in communities both large and small stocked and able to meet local needs.

That’s what Rural Energy Enterprises does.

“We’re basically a wholesaler of high-efficient heating products in Alaska, Pacific Northwest, and western Canada,” says CEO Jason Evans.

“We import products from around the world, whether it’s Japan, Sweden, South America, or North America,” he explains, mapping the important niche Rural Energy fills. “We warehouse them here in Anchorage. We also have a warehouse in Canada and a warehouse in the Seattle, Washington area.”

Evans says Rural Energy works hard to always be dependable for small retailers. “We have to plan a year to 18 months out what our inventory levels need to be to make sure that when, for instance, [Fairbanks-based] Woodway wants ten Toyo stoves, we load them up the next day and ship them up to them.”

And if those dealers are in the Anchorage area, “They just come to our warehouse and pick it up.”

Rural Energy Enterprises operates under a unique structure. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of RurAL CAP, the Rural Alaska Community Action Program. RurAL CAP is a private, statewide nonprofit that, according to its website, was established in 1965 “to improve the quality of life for low-income Alaskans.”

Rural Energy Enterprises was established as a for-profit entity in 1987 to support this mission and to raise funds for the nonprofit. Initially created to serve Alaska, the company’s footprint has expanded to northwestern states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming, as well as British Columbia, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.

Rural Energy now works with about 200 dealers across those states and territories. The company also owns the retail outlet VBS Heating in Homer, which sells boilers, hot water heaters, wood stoves, pellet stoves, and more.

Additionally, Rural Energy is the exclusive Toyo stove dealer in the region. Rural Energy was “looking at energy efficient products when they first started,” Evans says. Toyo stoves, he adds, were found to be “an efficient way to heat your home or to add supplemental heat to your home.”

The staff of Rural Energy Enterprises inside the company’s Anchorage warehouse.

Evans came to Rural Energy after working in far different fields, albeit ones that prepared him for his current position. Born and raised in Nome, he worked for some years in non-bank financing for Alaska Growth Capital, a subsidiary of Arctic Slope Regional Corporation at the time. He also owned several rural newspapers.

“I didn’t know anything about journalism until I bought them,” he says with a laugh. “I figured it out.”

Evans came on board as CEO for Rural Energy Enterprises in 2012 and has overseen its growth ever since. He says it can sometimes be a challenge to coordinate importing products from as far away as Sweden, Japan, and South America.

“It takes us about four to eight months to get a product once we order it, to get it into our warehouse,” he explains. “So, we warehouse millions of dollars of product to have available when Alaskans want to buy it on demand today.”

The company runs training classes once or twice a month out of the facility in Anchorage. And if product problems arise, Evans adds, “We work with manufacturers for technical issues. We’ll do testing here in our facility in Anchorage or we’ll work with one of our dealers to test.”

Rural Energy Enterprises, Evans says, will do whatever it takes to move critically needed heating products.

“We have dealers in all the hubs and a handful of villages,” he says. “We’re taking it from our warehouse and getting it into rural Alaska.”

Steve Smith, owner of Tundra Toyo in Nome, says Rural Energy’s multi-faceted approach is why he’s a loyal customer.

“I’ve worked with Rural Energy for many years and they’ve always been a dependable partner. They provide quality heating products, excellent support, and understand the unique needs of rural Alaska. Their team helps us serve customers across Nome and the surrounding region with confidence. I’m proud to be a Rural Energy dealer.”