Alcoa Sues Power Supplier Over Texas Shutdown

Alcoa Inc., owner of a Rockdale, Texas, smelter that partially closed because of power-supply interruptions, said Monday it sued Energy Future Holdings Corp., alleging it tried to put the plant out of business. Energy Future has failed to conduct maintenance at the Sandow power plant, which supplies Rockdale’s electricity, and has caused “outrageous spikes” in power prices, Alcoa said in the complaint filed in a Texas court. Energy Future is owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Texas Pacific Group and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Alcoa said in June it would idle half of its annual production at Rockdale, or about 120,000 metric tons, because of unreliable power supplies from lignite-fueled Sandow and rising costs.

Originally published by The Tribune-Review.

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