Alcoa's Portland smelter is "under significant pressure", but the Victorian government is in talks with the aluminium producer to help keep jobs afloat.

Premier Daniel Andrews says the future of the Portland smelter is a "serious issue" after The Age newspaper on Thursday speculated that the smelter could close as it is running at a loss and facing a surge in energy costs.

He said the government was talking with Alcoa about the pressures it was facing, but would not say if financial help was being considered.

Alcoa would not comment on the financial performance of its individual plants, but said it was focused on keeping the Portland smelter "internationally competitive".

"The Portland smelter is a good asset, it is a very well-run and relatively modern facility but like many smelters around the world it is under significant pressure due to persistently low international aluminium prices," a spokesman told AAP on Thursday.

An Alcoa application to get a discount on power costs when its current deal ends later this year was knocked back by the Australian Energy Market Operator.

The Portland smelter provides 700 direct jobs and about 2000 jobs overall to the Victorian economy.

• [Editor:tianyawei]