Winter Storms Prompt Voestalpine to Temporarily Halt HBI Production in Texas

Voestalpine has temporarily halted production as its hot-briquetted iron plant in southern Texas, the company said. “Our HBI plant in Texas experienced a temporary shutdown and made the decision to continue the shutdown,” a spokeswoman for the Austrian steelmaker said in an email to Steel Market Update on Feb. 18.

snow The company made the decision to conserve energy at the recommendation of the Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and the AEP Texas. ERCOT manages electricity flows to more than 26 million customers in Texas representing approximately 90% of the state’s electric load, according to its website. AEP Texas is part of electric utility American Electric Power.

Michael Cowden

Michael Cowden is managing editor for Steel Market Update. Cowden has covered the steel industry since 2007. He has since 2014 specialized in flat-rolled steel but has previously reported on steel long products, steel pipe and tube as well as aluminum. Before joining SMU, Cowden held reporting jobs at Fastmarkets AMM in Chicago - where he was involved in launching AMM's daily hot-rolled coil index, the Associated Press in Pittsburgh, and the Cambodia Daily in Phnom Penh. He has also worked as a copy editor and in marketing at the University of Chicago Press. Cowden has a BA in English from the University of Chicago and an MSJ journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Contact him at michael@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-759-7872.

Michael Cowden

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