Kitimat vows to fight Alcan expansion plan

VANCOUVER -- The northwestern British Columbia community of Kitimat is vowing to thwart a smelter expansion plan that would give Alcan Inc. the right to sell excess power from its B.C. aluminum operations back to the hydro grid at lucrative prices.

Kitimat mayor Richard Wozney said he is concerned that Alcan is being given the right to sell power that he said should be used to support industrial development and create jobs in the region.

"This is not the best deal for Kitimat or for British Columbians," Mr. Wozney said yesterday, referring to an agreement between Alcan and the B.C. government that was announced on Monday.

The district of Kitimat filed a petition with the British Columbia Supreme Court last month, seeking a declaration that power sales would contravene the 1950 Industrial Development Act, which set the stage for construction of the Kitimat smelter and related facilities.

The case centres on the district's view that hydro electric resources available to Alcan in the Nechako River would support a much larger smelter expansion than the one the Montreal-based company is planning.

Cynthia Carroll, president of Alcan's Primary Metals Group, has said the ability to sell power was only a "minor factor" in the company's decision to expand.