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Feb 16, 2011 (The Charleston Gazette - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- CHARLESTON, W.Va.-- Century Aluminum executives said Tuesday they hope to sign a new power contract soon, a first step toward the possible restart of the company's idled Ravenswood smelter.
For months, Century Aluminum has been negotiating discounted electricity rates with Appalachian Power.
The two companies have &quot;made progress for developing an avenue to obtain competitively priced power,&quot; said Wayne Hale, Century's chief operating officer.
&quot;We are in active discussions to conclude a power contract,&quot; Hale said during the company's fourth-quarter earnings conference call Tuesday.
Appalachian Power spokeswoman Jeri Matheney said the utility also was optimistic about reaching a new power deal with Century.
&quot;We are working with them and trying to find solutions,&quot; Matheney said. &quot;We're doing everything we can to put them in a position to reopen.&quot;
Century is trying to secure a long-term power agreement with Appalachian Power under a new state law that allows industrial manufacturers to negotiate flexible electricity rates.
The rates are tied, in part, to market prices for the products the plants manufacture. During tough economic times, the plants pay a lower rate.
Once the two sides sign a new power contract, Hale said, Century would turn to negotiating a new contract with union workers -- another factor critical to reopening the plant.
&quot;These two together will help us decide a price point . . . and whether or not we proceed,&quot; Hale said.
Century shuttered the 17,000-tons-a-year aluminum smelter in February 2009, putting 651 employees out of work. A skeleton crew of about a dozen employees maintains the idled smelter.
&quot;We are continuing to advance the complex process required for a potential restart of the Ravenswood smelter,&quot; Century Aluminum CEO Logan Kruger said Tuesday.
In 2009, Century announced it would no longer provide health-care coverage for 460 Ravenswood plant retirees over 65 and their spouses. The company encouraged workers to apply for Medicare.
That &quot;difficult decision&quot; improved the company's fourth-quarter results by $56.7 million, along with a tax savings of $2 million, Century executives said during the earnings call.
In June, the United Steelworkers union asked a federal judge to issue an injunction to force Century to continue providing medical benefits to retirees. The judge denied the request. The case is now before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.
In November, Century Aluminum notified retirees under age 65 that it no longer would provide health-care benefits to them after June 30.
Century has said that the medical benefits changes are necessary to position the company for a possible restart of the Ravenswood smelter.
&quot;During the year, we made some difficult but necessary decisions regarding the long-term employee-related liabilities,&quot; Kruger said Tuesday. &quot;The purpose was to relieve the company of liabilities it could not responsibly continue to bear.&quot;
Century officials have said it would take months to reopen the plant, if a decision is made to do so. Restarting the smelter would cost more than $20 million.
Century paid out an additional $4.6 million in pension benefits to Ravenswood employees during the fourth quarter of last year because the Jackson County plant remains idled, according to a company news release.
Kruger said Tuesday that aluminum market conditions are improving -- another factor that would lead the company to restart the Ravenswood facility. Aluminum prices have averaged about $2,500 per metric ton this year.
Prices bottomed out at $1,300 a ton in late 2008, shortly before the Jackon County smelter closed.
On Tuesday, Monterrey, Calif.-based Century reported a fourth-quarter profit after a loss the previous year. Net income was $65.3 million, or 64 cents a share, compared to a loss of $24.4 million, or 28 cents a share, during the same quarter in 2009. Sales rose to $316.9 million from $256.8 million a year earlier
&quot;Global economic growth has improved over the last several quarters, with business increasing across most end-markets,&quot; Kruger said. &quot;We are pleased with Century's progress during the closing months of 2010 and the beginning of 2011.&quot; 
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