BPA sets power for NW smelters

The Bonneville Power Administration announced it will offer electricity to aluminum companies in the Northwest through 2011.

In all, BPA will provide 577 megawatts to several companies, a fraction of the power once sold to what had been a bedrock industrial foundation of the Northwest.

It was just a few years ago that 10 smelters in the region produced half the country’s aluminum, providing high-wage blue collar jobs including more than 1,000 at the Mead smelter.

But shifting markets, aging factories, soaring power prices and BPA’s growing obligations to provide low-cost energy to other region users began taking a toll.

Today half the smelters are shuttered or razed. The others are either mothballed or running at reduced capacity.

BPA will provide Alcoa with 320 megawatts for its smelters in Ferndale and Wenatchee. It will also feed the smelter in Columbia Falls, Mont., about 140 megawatts, and allow Golden Northwest Aluminum Co. up to 100 megawatts for smelters in The Dalles, Ore., and Goldendale, Wash.

Another 17 megawatts will be purchased by the Port Townsend Paper Co. mill.

The average price for the power is $30 per megawatt hour. A megawatt hour is roughly the amount of electricity used by 650 homes for one hour.

GM discount program pays off with big June

Detroit

General Motors Corp.’s sales soared 41 percent in June to their highest monthly total in nearly 19 years thanks to a heavily promoted discount that allowed customers to buy cars and trucks at the employee rate, new sales figures showed on Friday.

In response, DaimlerChrysler AG’s Chrysler Group said it will match GM starting Wednesday with an employee discount program of its own. Despite falling sales, Ford Motor Co. declined to match GM on Friday.

Asian brands also continued their surge last month, according to results released Friday. Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and Nissan Motor Co. all posted their best June sales periods ever in the United States, while South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Co. said June was its best single month on record.

Chrysler Group said sales were up 1.1 percent in June, the company’s seventh consecutive quarter of year-over-year increases.

GM, the world’s biggest automaker, said June amounted to its best month since September 1986. Paul Ballew, GM’s executive director of global market and industry analysis, said the company will announce soon whether it plans to continue the far-reaching discount, which began June 1 and is scheduled to end Tuesday.

Ballew said GM attracted roughly 150,000 new customers in June. They typically bought vehicles for an average of $400 to $500 less than they paid in May, he said.

GM sales for the first six months of the year rose 2.7 percent. Its truck sales rose 6.3 percent; car sales fell 2.3 percent.

Ford said its domestic sales fell 2.5 percent in June from a year ago and dropped 4.3 percent for the first six months of the year despite hits like the sporty Mustang and growing sales of its crossover vehicles.

Unemployment insurance topic of meeting

Coeur d’Alene

A free seminar to help employers understand changes in Idaho unemployment insurance law will be held from 8 a.m. to noon July 14 at the Shilo Inn, 702 W. Appleway Ave.

Stricter penalties for companies and individuals that defraud or manipulate Idaho’s unemployment insurance system take effect this month.

“My advice to those tempted to cheat the system is – don’t do it,” said Mark Whitworth, administer of the state Unemployment Insurance Division. “The stakes are higher and your chances of getting caught are greater.”

A new computer system cross-references information from claimants and companies. The department also beefed up its team of investigators to track down potential violations.

Those attending the meeting will have the chance to ask questions about the new penalties, as well as the Legislature’s decision to increase unemployment insurance taxes and lower benefits. The savings will replenish the state’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

Under the new penalties, claimants defrauding the system must repay the entire amount, plus penalties ranging from 25 percent to 100 percent of the amount. In addition, they must wait 12 months before obtaining future benefits.

Companies committing fraud to avoid paying unemployment insurance taxes face penalties equal to 100 percent of the taxes due, or $250, whichever is greater. The state can also place liens on employers who fail to pay taxes.

Hecla files shelf-registration statement

Coeur d’Alene Hecla Mining Co. has filed a shelf-registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, seeking the ability to raise up to $275 million through the sale of stock or debt securities.

Pending SEC approval, Hecla officials said they would use the funds for general corporate purposes, expansion of existing facilities, or acquisition of new mining projects. The specific use of the funds would be announced at the time of the offering.

Hecla recently became eligible to file the shelf registration. The company was not able to file the registration until it paid off dividends to holders of Hecla’s preferred stock, which had been in arrears.