New Zealand PM Seeks 3-5 Year Delay in Smelter Closure
September 27 2020 - 7:16PM
Dow Jones News
By Stephen Wright
WELLINGTON, New Zealand--New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda
Ardern has promised her government will negotiate a three- to
five-year delay in the closure of Rio Tinto's Tiwai Point aluminum
smelter, as she campaigns for reelection.
Rio Tinto Ltd. has said New Zealand's sole aluminum smelter is
not economically viable and plans to close it in August 2021,
jeopardizing several thousand jobs in the Southland region where it
is located. The smelter consumes about 13% of New Zealand's
electricity.
Delaying the smelter's closure would allow more time for the
region to develop new industries, Ms. Ardern said Monday.
Ms. Ardern's governing center-left Labour Party has a
substantial lead in opinion polls ahead of the national vote on
Oct. 17.
Negotiations with Rio Tinto would focus on maintaining the
smelter's workforce, eventual remediation of the smelter site and
lowering the price it pays for transmission of electricity from the
nearby Manapouri hydro dam, Ms. Ardern said.
Rio Tinto has argued it is paying too much for electricity
transmission and subsidizing other industrial users given its
proximity to Manapouri, which is operated by Meridian Energy
Ltd.
Ms. Ardern said the government could provide support to
state-owned electricity grid operator Transpower Ltd., which would
allow it reduce the smelter's bill without passing the cost to
other power consumers.
Write to Stephen Wright at stephen.wright@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 27, 2020 19:01 ET (23:01 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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