Aluminum manufacturer Alcoa is seeking $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.
The suit was filed last year 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 laying 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 laid 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, at times, it was forced to pay almost 100 times the average price of electricity.
Luminant denied such problems when the plant closed, saying that Alcoa was using it as a scapegoat.
"There have been no new significant power generation concerns or new pricing issues," Luminant said in a statement when the layoffs were announced. "We believe Alcoa has a history of using layoffs like this as a vehicle for managing costs and driving the company's profitability."
The company has said it intends to vigorously defend itself in the suit.
No trial date has been set.
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