Wheeling, WV-based Ormet Primary Aluminum Corp. has issued two requests for proposals, seeking up to 553 MW of power supply, up to 6.8 Bcf/year of gas supply and complete utilization of Ormet’s substantial demand-side resources and dynamic scheduling, which provides control area and ancillary services. The RFPs are for service starting Jan. 1, 2005. Proposals are due April 8. Ormet uses 542 MW of around-the-clock power at a 99% annual load factor at its Hannibal, OH, plant. It has the ability to reduce load by as much as 480 MW upon a 15-minute notice and is a self supplying customer not tied to a retail supplier. One of Ormet’s RFPs seeks proposals for all or a portion of its power supply and utilization of its demand-side resources. Demand-side proposals can be combined with or separate from the power supply proposals. The RFP also invites suppliers to submit offers for 6.8 Bcf/year of gas supply for its Burnside alumina plant located south of Baton Rouge, LA. In the second RFP, Ormet is soliciting dynamic scheduling to provide control area and ancillary services. The company said it would consider proposals separate from or in conjunction with the first RFP. For additional details, visit Ormet’s web site at www.ormet.com/rfp.

Akron, OH-based FirstEnergy Corp. said its board of directors has decided to implement an early termination date for its shareholder rights plan, which was implemented in 1997 to make hostile takeovers of the company prohibitively expensive. Erasing the “poison pill” plan could open the company up to unsolicited bids. The board has decided to accelerate the expiration date of the rights under the plan to March 31, subject to approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The original plan was originally set to expire on Nov. 28, 2007. The plan — which was adopted in November 1997 following the merger of Ohio Edison and Centerior Energy that formed FirstEnergy — was similar to a plan that was in place at Ohio Edison prior to the merger.

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