Tiwai smelter ramps up as winter electricity outlook brightens, and reports earnings

Reduced output last year affected the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter's output. This winter looks better. (Image: NZME)

Tue, 03 Jun 2025

An improving outlook for electricity supply this winter has allowed the Rio Tinto aluminium smelter at Bluff to ramp back up production and end its winter “demand response” action earlier than anticipated.The smelter had cut its electricity use by 50 megawatts (MW) under the 20-year supply agreement it settled with Meridian Energy in May last year, in anticipation of electricity shortages that sent wholesale power prices skyrocketing last winter. “New Zealand’s hydro storage is looking much healthier than it was ju...

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