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Gold/Mining/Energy : Strictly: Drilling and oil-field services -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Warpfactor who wrote (82766)	12/26/2000 8:47:00 PM
From: Think4Yourself	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

Aluminum futures may be a good play on power issues... Golden Northwest to Cut Aluminum Production on Power Shortage By Jonathan Berr The Dalles, Oregon, Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Golden Northwest Aluminum Inc., owner of two smelters in the Pacific Northwest, said it plans to cut production by 83 percent through October because of power shortages in the West Coast. The company is reducing aluminum production at its smelters in The Dalles, Oregon, and Goldendale, Washington, so the Bonneville Power Administration can resell electricity to California and the Pacific Northwest. Aluminum smelters, which are among the biggest users of electricity in the region, are being asked to cut back power use to ease the West Coast's power shortage. Power prices in California are about 5 times higher than they were last year. ``You have to play the hand you're dealt,'' said Brett Wilcox, chief executive of Golden Northwest, a closely held company based in The Dalles, Oregon. Golden Northwest will reduce production, which had already been cut in September, at its smelters to 25,000 metric tons a year from 150,000 tons, he said. The company's capacity is 250,000 tons. Golden Northwest will use the profit from the electricity sales to keep its 1,225 employees on its payroll or to supplement their unemployment compensation so their benefits equal their salary, Wilcox said. He declined to say how much profit the company expects to make. The BPA, which provides about half of the Pacific Northwest's power, declined to comment on the Golden Northwest agreement. Energy Secretary Bill Richardson criticized Kaiser Aluminum Corp. earlier this month after the company said it planned to temporarily shut a smelter and lay off employees to sell power to the BPA. Prices for aluminum futures for January delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose 2 percent today to 75.7 cents per pound. They have risen 8 percent since November 1.