Perseverance isn't always a virtue.
Noranda Aluminum is seeking a rehearing from the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) on a proposed compromise to a rate reduction idea that was rejected last month.
Noranda wants the PSC to consider a proposal from the Office of Public Counsel - which is required to represent Missouri consumers in PSC rate cases - to reduce Noranda's current electric rate from Ameren Missouri by 16 percent, and raise all other Ameren customers' rates by 1 percent.
The OPC has said all concerned parties support the proposed compromise.
But the request, although modified, remains unfair - by any standard - and misdirected.
Noranda, which operates an aluminum smelter in the southeast Missouri Bootheel, now enjoys the lowest rate Ameren Missouri charges any of its more than 1 million customers. A standard practice is to offer lower rates for consistent bulk purchases, and Noranda qualifies because aluminum processing requires massive amounts of electricity.
The company in February had asked for - and the PSC last month rejected - an additional, 25 percent reduction, to be offset by raising rates about 2 percent for other Ameren customers.
The proposed subsidy is where the unfairness factor comes to play.
Without the added rate reduction, Noranda argues, its viability is in jeopardy.
First, when the PSC ruled on the request in August, Chairman Robert Kenney said: "We were not persuaded that Noranda's alleged liquidity crisis was of such severity as to justify granting the relief requested."
Second, no justification exists for the proposed subsidy. No one wants a significant employer to close its doors, but how is it fair for other ratepayers - including those that also are struggling - to pay higher rates to sustain Noranda?
Noranda's operational costs may be linked to electric rates.
Some argue its financial problems are caused at least in part by a hedge fund, Apollo Investments, that takes money off the top without investing in the company operations.
But its problem, ultimately, is an economic development issue.
Consequently, as the PSC previously has pointed out, any relief request must be directed not to the regulatory agency for public utilities, but to the state Legislature.
Noranda again has trotted out an unfair and misdirected proposal.
If the company intends to remain viable, it must formulate a serious, realistic alternative plan.