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With fuel oil hitting $3.65 to $3.70 a gallon in Fairbanks, consumers are looking at a bill of $1,725 or more for a 500-gallon delivery.

Premium gasoline is nearly the same price and $4 per gallon doesn’t seem far off for either fuel.

The price of heating a home, on a British Thermal Unit basis, is now more than three times higher in Fairbanks than in Anchorage and other Southcentral towns with low-priced natural gas.

The colder and longer winters in Fairbanks push the price differential higher.

Borough Mayor Jim Whitaker and Jim Dodson, president of the Fairbanks Economic Development Corp., are on the right track in saying we’re facing an energy crisis in Fairbanks.

My guess is that thousands of people are in a serious bind because the price of heating a home has more than doubled in the past few years. Gasoline and electric rates are way up as well.

The state has been the main beneficiary of this largesse, collecting perhaps $200 million more a year because of the higher fuel payments here, Whitaker said.

The supplemental budget awaiting action by the governor has $300 million in it for statewide weatherization and energy-efficiency rebate programs that would be spread out over the next several years.

Two-thirds of that money is to go to the weatherization program. To qualify, a family of four in Fairbanks would have to have an income of $73,300 or less.

Those programs will help some residents, but they aren’t enough.

The majority of Alaska legislators, who live in Southcentral Alaska and have low heating bills and electric rates, don’t understand the dimensions of the problem.

The good news, however, is that Whitaker is working with Dodson and other community leaders on a plan to actually do something. They are encouraging construction of a plant that would use proven technology to convert coal to a synthetic liquid fuel.

Dozens of people helped develop this plan as part of the Interior Issues Council energy work led by former Golden Valley Electric Association President Steve Haagenson, now the governor’s energy coordinator and executive director of the Alaska Energy Authority.

The Air Force is using a blend of synthetic fuel in some of its planes and supporting efforts to expand the practice elsewhere in the country. GVEA is supporting the project, and it could be a way to get lower-cost heating oil.

The complicated energy plan will require coordinated efforts by government and industry and a great deal of work, but the situation is urgent.

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SUNDAY MORNING: The Fairbanks Lutheran Church is continuing the tradition of hosting a sunrise service on Easter Sunday.

Actually when the congregation gathers at 7 a.m. it will be about 38 minutes before sunrise.

The service is to take place on the William R. Wood pedestrian bridge across the Chena. Parking is allowed on both sides of the river and all denominations are invited.

The Rev. Paul Tyler promises to offer a short message and there will be singing.

The Fairbanks Lutheran Church will be providing hot chocolate and other amenities, followed by breakfast in the church on Cowles Street.

Last year 137 gathered on the bridge for an energetic Easter celebration.

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EASTER RISING: The Easter services Sunday at First Presbyterian Church at 8:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. are to include the 30-plus member church choir performing “God With Us,” an Easter cantata written over a period of years by Jerry Cleworth.

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COURT WORK: The supplemental budget approved by the Legislature includes $629,700 to complete the Alaska Supreme Court chambers in the Rabinowitz Courthouse downtown.

This allows offices and meeting space for the court in Fairbanks, recognizing that Judge Dan Winfree of Fairbanks is now on the court.