The Eagle reported that aluminum manufacturer Alcoa is seeking USD 500 million in damages from a utility company in a lawsuit that claims the company manipulated electricity prices that forced Alcoa to shut down its Rockdale plant.

As per report, the suit was filed in 2008 in a Milam County court but documents filed this month revealed the amount Alcoa is seeking.

A spokesman for Alcoa confirmed that the company is seeking the amount but declined to comment on the case because it is a pending legal matter. The suit is against Energy Future Holdings, which owns Luminant the energy company that provided power to the Alcoa plant.

Alcoa announced in June 2008 that it was lying off more than 600 workers and curtailing most of its operations at the plant. The company has since shut down all of its output and lay off most of its remaining Rockdale workers.

At the time, Alcoa officials blamed issues with Luminant along with market conditions for shutting the plant down. Luminant operates a power plant next to Alcoa's aluminum smelter and was contracted to provide electricity. Alcoa claimed that Luminant manipulated prices and had unreliable service.

In the suit, Alcoa alleges that it was forced to pay almost 100 times the average price of electricity.

Luminant said in a statement when the layoffs were announced that "There have been no new significant power generation concerns or new pricing issues. We believe Alcoa has a history of using layoffs like this as a vehicle for managing costs and driving the company's profitability."

(Sourced from Theeagle.com)