Energy: Cash crunch: Its ripple effect: How the financial difficulties of U.S. electric utilities threaten to erode diverse segments of the economy

North Star Steel, operating out of St. Paul, Minn., is a U.S. steel producer not known to the general public. Desiring to expand its operations by the construction of a new mill, North Star studied its needs ¿ the location of the probable market and the availability of resources, labor, and transportation ¿ to determine the best possible site for its new plant. From nearly every point of view, southeastern Michigan, specifically the Detroit area, seemed ideal. But operating a steel mill means hefty power requirements. In the case of North Star´s planned facility, the projected high-powered 100-ton furnace would require about 40 MW of electric capacity. The question in the minds of management was: Could either Detroit Edison or Consumers Power (the two troubled Michigan utilities ¿ see Spectrum, March, pp. 40¿44, and April, pp. 62¿65) be depended on? Said North Star vice president Theodore Leja: