06.13.01

Senator Maria Cantwell Applauds Chelan PUD-Alcoa Agreement

WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) today applauded the Chelan Public Utility District (PUD) agreement with Alcoa. Cantwell said the agreement is a good model in dealing with the energy crisis since it will help to save another 400 Washington state jobs and also bring new generation resources online.

"The Chelan PUD and Alcoa agreement will ensure that employees at Wenatchee Works will get paid while mitigating some of the effects of the energy crisis," Cantwell said. "This is the kind of commonsense deal that will help Washington state cope with our severe energy shortage."

Alcoa will curtail operations at its Wenatchee plant for up to a year and a half, depending on the power market. During this time, workers will be compensated and the plant will be maintained. New resources of power generation will also be acquired to serve Alcoa through 2011. The parties will also continue to negotiate to arrange power supply for Alcoa though 2036.

Alcoa had previously reached a similar deal with the Bonneville Power Administration, but part of the Wenatchee plant's power load was served by Chelan PUD. This latest arrangement pertains to the portion of the Alcoa load that Chelan PUD provides.

"This is the kind of commonsense negotiation that is needed to deal with the energy crisis, particularly in light of BPA's announcement that wholesale rates could increase by 155 percent without further negotiation," Cantwell concluded. "It is great to see what can get done when people sit down at a table and talk to each other."