Will the Bluff smelter close?

Stuff reports:

More than $2 billion has been wiped off the value of power companies following the announcement that the aluminium smelter in Bluff is being reviewed and could close down.
The smelter directly employs about 900 Southlanders, but its possible closure could have ramifications well beyond the region by flooding the market with cheap electricity.

If the smelter closes, it will be devastating for Southland, and bad for shareholders (like me) of power companies. But it would be very good for pretty much every other household and business in NZ, due to cheaper power prices.

“The New Zealand Government has had a clear position since 2013 under the Key/English government that there will be no more financial assistance from taxpayers for Rio Tinto, which is already supported by Meridian for the power it uses.”
That hadn’t changed, she said.

Good. The assistance given by National was wrong and misguided. Rio Tinto should commercially negotiate for the best electricity price they can get. If it is not cheap enough for them, then that’s just the reality.