A shocker: NZ power firms tumble after Rio announces aluminium smelter closure

Vector

09/07/2020 01:45

** Power firms in New Zealand fall after Rio Tinto  RIO.AX 
announces closure of its aluminium smelter operation in the
country, putting over a thousands jobs in peril  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2EF3N7
    ** Electricity suppliers and distributors the top six
percentage losers on the benchmark  .NZ50 
    ** Meridian Energy Ltd  MEL.NZ  sees worst day on record
after Rio says it served co a notice to terminate their power
contract, which will end in August 2021
    ** Contact Energy  CEN.NZ  calls Rio's decision "very
disappointing" and says it will have a significant impact on the
Southland economy; declines nearly 15%  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nFWN2EF0TZ
    ** The electric firms are likely to be hurt by the closure
as it will leave a big surplus of power capacity in the region
and drive down power prices
    ** Genesis Energy Ltd  GNE.NZ  falls about 7%, says closure
marks a "fundamental shift" in the New Zealand electricity
market  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nNZW3zG0WJ
    ** Trustpower Ltd  TPW.NZ  declines about 7%, while Mercury
NZ  MCY.NZ  falls nearly 6% and Vector Ltd  VCT.NZ  sheds about
4% 

 (Reporting by Shruti Sonal in Bengaluru)
 ((Shruti.Sonal@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @shrutisonal26))