Columbia Falls Aluminum agrees to curtail power supply Monday May 21, 9:55 PM EDT

NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - The Bonneville Power Administration said on Monday that the Columbia Falls Aluminum Co. has agreed to curtail its plants' power supply for up to two years and sell the electricity back to the local power authority.

The deal comes after a similar deal last week by Alcoa Inc (AA), which also agreed to sell power back to the BPA. The power authority has struggled to meet regional electricity demands and said it "does not have sufficient supply to serve all of its customers' requirements."

Kalispell, Mont.-based CFAC agreed to have power deliveries from the BPA reduced by 167 megawatts through Sept. 30, 2002, and by 100 megawatts from Oct. 1, 2002, through Sept. 30, 2003, the power authority said.

Affected workers will receive pay and benefits while CFAC facilities are idled. BPA said it will fund the workers' compensation.

"The high cost of wholesale power in the market would most likely have forced the companies to shut down anyway, so helping them to maintain a paid work force until prices come down is the best possible outcome for all concerned," said Steve Wright, acting administrator of BPA.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), May 22, 2001