ix months after hammering out an agreement for lower-cost electricity, Alcoa Inc.'s Intalco Works aluminium smelter in Ferndale has started operating its second aluminium-producing potline.

The 40-year-old Ferndale smelter is operating at two-thirds capacity, with two of its three aluminium-producing potlines now running. Electricity costs to power the smelter were lowered last year when Pittsburgh-based Alcoa (NYSE: AA – News) worked out a deal with the Bonneville Power Administration. Alcoa employs about 575 people at the site, as well as 200 contractors. The smelter has not operated two potlines at the Whatcom County facility since April 2003, with only one operating since then.

"This plant has had a turbulent history but the restart offers us all stability and a platform for a secure future," said Mike Rousseau, plant manager, in a statement.