Responding to the NC Water Rights Committee

I don’t usually like to respond to far-fetched accusations that have absolutely no basis in fact, but I feel compelled to respond to some of the outrageous claims being made by the N.C. Water Rights Committee.

In a recent press release, the N.C. Water Rights Committee speculates that the Yadkin Project may generate as much as $80 million a year in profit and implies that Alcoa is not being truthful with its financial filings with FERC. Irresponsible allegations like that can’t go unanswered.

The financial information we have submitted to FERC is accurate and has already been independently verified by auditors. Here are the facts:

1. Alcoa Power Generating Inc. is required to follow standard accounting practices – specifically the Uniform System of Accounts (USOA) – in all financial filings at FERC. There is no “creative accounting” taking place.

2. Our annual financial filings at FERC are independently audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers to verify their accuracy. The numbers are not misleading or inaccurate.

The profit numbers being floated by the N.C. Water Rights Committee are pure fantasy. But if anyone out there can tell me how to create an $80 million profit from a business that only generates about half that in gross revenues, please give me a call.