Power Supply To VALCO To Be Reduced

The Volta River Authority (VRA) has initiated a programme to reduce power supply to the Volta Aluminium Company (VALCO) due to the low level of water in the Akosombo Dam. The exact amount and financing of the reduction are yet to be finalized.

The Ghana News Agency quotes sources close to VALCO as saying that "management has already begun shut down procedure for part of the plant" in anticipation of the possibility of power reductions. ''You may be assured that VALCO management team is working diligently with the VRA to arrive at an agreement that will minimise the impact on our workforce,'' the sources added.

On October 1, last year, VALCO declared 80 employees out of its workforce of 1,009 redundant because of low aluminium prices coupled with reduction in operation capacity since March 2002.

Kaiser Aluminum's Valco plant in Ghana cuts output

NEW YORK, Jan 2 (Reuters) - Kaiser Aluminum Corp. said Thursday it began to curtail production at its 90-percent-owned Valco aluminum smelter in Ghana, due to a reduced power allocation for 2003, pending a meeting next week with the state-run power provider.
Kaiser said the power reduction from the Volta River Authority (VRA), effective Jan 1, would cut operation at the Volta Aluminum Company Ltd. smelter to between one-and-one-half and two potlines, from three potlines previously.
"We are in the process of taking the first line down, so we will be moving toward that lower line level," Kaiser spokesman Scott Lamb said.
"We already have gone from three lines to two lines and we are evaluating when and if we might need to go beyond that in light of the scheduled mediation for Monday," he said.
Valco, located in Tema, Ghana's main port, has five potlines each with an annual production capacity of about 40,000 tonnes. Valco ran four potlines in 2000 and 2001 but in March 2002 scaled down operations to three potlines as VRA cut its power allocation.
A Valco official in December quoted VRA as saying drought in the West African nation had significantly reduced the operating level of the Volta hydroelectric dam at Akosombo, northeast of the capital, Accra.
Kaiser Aluminum said in a Dec 31 statement that Valco objected to the 2002-2003 allocations and "intends to seek declaratory relief and the recovery of monetary damages in respect of the curtailments.
"Valco is scheduled to begin mediation with the VRA and the Government of Ghana on Jan. 6, 2003," the statement continued. "In addition, Valco and Kaiser have filed for arbitration with the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris against both the VRA and the Government of Ghana."
Houston, Texas-based Kaiser filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early 2002 under pressure from a heavy debt load and low world aluminum prices.