In a move that could drastically affect the lives of people in western Kentucky, Big Rivers Electric Corp. has decided to take upon itself to boost electric rates by 20 percent per megawatt, which has resulted in the Rio Tinto Alcan aluminum smelter in Sebree to announce it'll shutter it operations.
According to Rio Tinto Alcan spokesman Kenny Barkley, the rate increase isn't sustainable for operations to continue.
This is the second aluminum smelter in the region to announce it will be shutting down operations, with the other being of Century Aluminum in Hawesville.
Strangely, the asserted reason for the gigantic rate increase is from the loss of Century as a customer by Big Rivers Electric. So let's see. They're losing a huge customer, so they increase rates and lose another big customer. They need to look at the leadership of Big Rivers and consider replacing it with this time of economic insanity.
It's not clear how all of this will have an impact on the 488 employees over whether they'll be offered jobs elsewhere in the company at other locations. Either way, it won't help the area once the jobs are gone.
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