MONCKS CORNER, S.C. –After Century Aluminum announced it will likely have to close its doors in December due to the company’s inability to reach an agreement with Santee Cooper, the power giant is now weighing in on the issue.
“Santee Cooper has offered Century everything that we could fairly offer to help them keep the plant operating, but in the end Century’s leadership consistently required a deal that would unfairly increase costs to our other customers,” stated Spokesperson Mollie Gore. “Santee Cooper has a responsibility to provide reliable, affordable electricity to all of our customers.”
On Thursday, about 600 employees at the Mt. Holly aluminum smelter in Goose Creek received notices that Mt. Holly had been unable to reach agreement with Santee Cooper regarding transmission of energy to the smelter.
In the letter to employees, Mt. Holly said that it had secured a power contract with a third-party provider to supply the required power at market rates. The third-party agreement would allow the plant to continue to operate if Santee Cooper would agree to deliver such power across Santee Cooper’s transmission lines.
“Ultimately Century’s decision (to close) is rooted in a longstanding, depressed aluminum market, with aluminum prices today trading at about half their pre-recession levels,” stated Gore. “This is an aluminum industry issue. Aluminum smelting is energy-intensive, and many U.S. smelters have closed or moved overseas. When Mt. Holly was built, there were 30 smelters in the U.S. There are just seven left today.”
Meanwhile, Berkeley County Spokesperson Michael Mule confirms Supervisor Bill Peagler has been in discussions with both Century Aluminum and Santee Cooper and hopes the two can eventually come to an agreement.
“Supervisor Peagler and the Berkeley County Economic Development Office are hopeful that the State and Santee Cooper can reach a resolution with Century Aluminum, so 600 people will not lose their jobs in Berkeley County at the end of the year,” stated Mule.
For now, negotiations between the two companies continue. Gore says Santee Cooper will continue to be available to discuss terms that can keep Mt. Holly operating as long as it doesn’t increase costs to Santee Cooper customers.
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