Boyer and Aurora strike energy deal

A last-minute deal between Boyer Paper Mill and Aurora Energy over a disagreement about a $7 million credit requirement was struck late on Friday, protecting over 300 company jobs as well as over 1000 other indirect jobs.

Negotiations between the companies have been ongoing for some time and were critical to the mills’ future, with both parties eventually agreeing to a compromise on a settlement.

The new credit agreement guarantees the mills and workers future plus the ongoing power supply which helps to cover the mill’s $40 million annual electricity use.

Aurora Chair Trevor Danos said the deal meets commercial obligations while Boyer's David Marriner praised the “mutually acceptable outcome” while also stating the plans to electrify the mill’s coal-fired boilers will continue to be progressed.

Minister for Energy and Renewables Nick Duigan said that as Boyer is a major industrial customer, it was normal for Aurora to require a suitable guarantee on bills which amount to more than $40 million a year.

“Security arrangements apply to all of Aurora’s major industrial customers and are a standard requirement across the industry more broadly,” Minister Duigan said.

“At the same time, we acknowledge Boyer’s plans to electrify and move away from its coal-powered boilers.

“I thank the representatives of Aurora and Boyer for their efforts in reaching this agreement."

Australia's only paper mill uses coal-fired boilers which it is seeking to convert to electricity; however, Hydro Tasmania says there's not enough local power in the Tasmanian grid to support running it purely on electricity, and the only way to support this would be to import power from Victoria.

Boyer's boiler which was built in 1991 currently uses around  88,000 tonnes of coal imported from New South Wales each year.

The recent resolution is a welcome outcome but criticism has been raised about negotiations being left to the last minute, which has caused stress for the number of workers and families with some of them being employed at the mill for over 40 years.