New Zealand Aluminium Smelter to delay its Tiwai potline ramp-up until August’25

New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) chief executive Chris Blenkiron announced on Tuesday, February 25 that the company will delay its planned potline ramp-up at Tiwai until August 31. Following last year's announcement to increase production, the decision aims to ensure Meridian Energy has access to 50MW of electricity during the winter months. With winter approaching, Southland's Tiwai Point aluminium smelter is preparing for what is typically a demanding season.

He stated that NZAS had been gradually restoring production after implementing a 205MW demand reduction to support New Zealand during last winter's energy shortage. Due to the complexity of the ramp-down and ramp-up process, full production was not expected to resume until April.

"While it is always a difficult decision to reduce aluminium production, it makes sense to pause the ramp-up now and have 50MW available to Meridian this winter. When we signed the 20-year electricity agreements in 2024, one of our goals was to work as partners in the energy system as we move ahead," stated New Zealand Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) chief executive Chris Blenkiron.

An NZAS external affairs director stated yesterday that the decision would not impact staff at the smelter. He also clarified that it would not affect plans to reopen the fourth potline, which has remained closed since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, the company announced plans to increase production as hydro lake levels rose, following an agreement with power suppliers to cut consumption by over 200MW. Since then, production has been ramping up, with the potline expected to be fully operational by April — but that timeline has now been pushed back to at least September.

"The aluminium process requires constant energy, and while most of our global competitors are still powered by fossil fuels to solve this challenge, in New Zealand we continue to find better ways to work in partnership with our largely renewable grid. This winter will again test our operational capability, but we're the best in the world at this and we're up for the challenge," added Mr Blenkiron.