Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Alcoa aluminum company says it wants discounted hydropower to continue operating its aluminum smelter near Bellingham, Washington.

Public utilities call it a sweetheart deal that will be subsidized by their ratepayers. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

Bonneville Power has agreed to sell Alcoa half the juice it needs to run its smelter for at least 10 years. In exchange, Alcoa promises to modernize the plant and guarantee jobs.

BPA doesn’t actually have surplus electricity, so it has agreed to buy power on the open market and sell it to Alcoa well below cost. The agency says it would then have to raise the rates for its other customers to recover its losses.

Those customers are protesting. Scott Corwin from the Public Power Council says the federal agency would unfairly subsidize Alcoa to the tune of $140,000 per job while thousands of other Northwest companies pick up the tab.

He says some businesses will be forced to close their doors and lay off workers.

But Alcoa consultant Jack Speer says it’s a good investment for the regional economy.

Jack Speer: “And it would really cause an economic hardship and a disruption to the local community if BPA were to cut off power and force the plant to close just because other customers wanted slightly lower rates.”

BPA is considering a similar deal with the Columbia Falls Aluminum Company in Montana. Alcoa asked the Northwest Power and Conservation Council to help move the sale along so that BPA can buy power for the company while the rates are low.

Online:

BPAnews/nreleases.cfm" target="_blank">Bonneville Power Administration

Alcoa