Algoma Steel has resumed production at its Ontario electric arc furnace following a failure at the power plant as it continues to assess the potential hit to steel output and shipments.

The Canadian producer of plate and sheet steel products said it has worked with the coordinator of Ontario's electricity system to put in place interim arrangements that allowed it to resume electric arc furnace production since last Saturday.

Operations had been halted since Aug. 17 following an outage at the company's Lake Superior Power generating facility after one of the turbine units detected an abnormal condition and was automatically taken offline. The power plant supplies electricity to the Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, company's steelmaking operations, and the outage forced it to suspended production at its electric arc furnace, though finishing and shipping activities continued.

Algoma said it is now producing and shipping steel while it looks at a number of alternatives to restore full generating capacity as quickly as possible. This includes the repair and return to service of the affected turbine and securing a replacement turbine.

The extent of any impact on production and shipments will depend on the timing and implementation of mitigation efforts that are expected to reduce the potential reduction in production, Algoma said. The Independent Electricity System Operator is reviewing upcoming planned power system outages, with the aim of minimizing potential interruptions to the steelmaking operations, the company said.

The recent outage at the electric arc furnace comes at a tough time for Canada's steel industry, which has been affected by the shift in U.S. trade policy and tariffs aimed at steel and other goods. In response to the tariffs, Algoma has focused its operations on Canada and shifted to electric arc furnace steelmaking in place of legacy blast furnaces that rely on smelting iron ore with coke.