Tester urges power agreement for CFAC

Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. continues negotiations with Bonneville Power Administration, and the company is getting Montana’s congressional delegation behind it.

Montana Sen. Jon Tester issued a letter Monday to Bonneville Power Administration urging the electricity provider to sign a long-term agreement to supply power to CFAC, a move Tester pointed to as a first step in restoring the jobs lost in the plant’s shutdown last year.

Citing the potential for restoring jobs, Tester urged Bonneville administrator Stephen J. Wright to quickly bring “negotiations to a successful close.”

“This recession has hammered the Flathead Valley with double-digit unemployment and job losses in core industries,” Tester wrote in a letter to Wright. “Reopening the CFAC plant could create as many as 350 good-paying jobs in the Flathead Valley. I urge you to work swiftly and flexibly to ensure that a power contract is signed with Glencore to bring these jobs back to the Treasure State.”

Columbia Falls Aluminum Company shut down late last year after facing rising energy prices as a result of litigation against BPA. CFAC was not able to find less expensive power on the open market.

“Quickly bringing these negotiations to a successful close is critical to restarting this plant,” Tester added. “I urge you finalize a contract before the end of the year, so the plant can return to production in the New Year and we can return our economy to its full power.”

Haley Beaudry, external affairs manager for CFAC said the company has been in negotiations with Bonneville since the plant closed.

“One of the few things left to settle is the term, the length of the contract,” Beaudry said. “We asked (Sens.) Jon (Tester) and Baucus and (Congressman) Rehberg for help in getting a long-term contract.

Other obstacles lie in the way of the plant re-opening. Aside from electricity negotiations, CFAC faces stiff competition from international alumina producers, most notably companies in the Middle East. The market for aluminum is growing, however.

“We’ve been trying since the day it closed down to get it re-opened; we just haven’t gotten there yet,” Beaudry said. “Besides the power contract, there has to be a market for aluminum, there has to be a way to get raw materials back into the plant. When they’re all in line with each other, we’ll be able to make the decision to go ahead. It’s a straight business decision. The longer (the plant) sits idle, the more challenge it is to get it re-opened. We’re still hopeful.”

Beaudry did not say how long it would be until the plant could re-open, if it does. He also said the number of potlines the plant would fire up would depend on how much raw material the plant could secure and how much electricity Bonneville would provide.

Michael Milstein, a Bonneville spokesman, said they the power administration has drafted terms of a power agreement and is waiting for CFAC’s reaction to those terms.

“We’re hopeful,” Milstein said. “That’s the goal, that’s why we’re talking with them.”