GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (AP) - Gov. Nikki Haley says South Carolina has done all it can to keep a Lowcountry aluminum plant with 600 jobs operating as a contractual impasse between the company and its power provider enters its final weeks.
Century Aluminum has told workers at its Mount Holly aluminum smelter that it will close by year’s end unless it can reach a power transmission agreement with Santee Cooper.
Haley said Wednesday in Goose Creek that the state has pushed hard for an agreement, according to The Post and Courier of Charleston (https://bit.ly/1jTJtwg). But she said the state cannot go beyond what’s fair and provide special favors for one business over another.
“Their employees mean a lot to us and I hope they will continue to stay,” Haley said. “Every one of those jobs is valuable. But our job is to make sure we are fair to everybody in South Carolina.”
The state-owned electric utility Santee Cooper says it cannot agree to a rate for Century that would mean increased costs for its other industrial customers. The current power agreement - struck in 2012 when then-Alcoa threatened to shut down - expires Dec. 31.
The utility serves other industries that employ 7,000 workers.
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Information from: The Post and Courier, https://www.postandcourier.com
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