UK Steel, a subdivision of the Manufacturers’ Organisation – MAKE UK, expressed its disappointment following the publication of the British government’s Energy White Paper, which it felt failed to address “uncompetitive” industrial electricity costs for the UK steel industry.
According to the association, UK steel producers face significantly higher electricity prices compared with their immediate competitors and neighbors on the continent, paying 62pc more than mills in Germany and 80pc more than those in France.
Gareth Stace, UK Steel’s director general stated that high energy costs not only impact the sector’s competitiveness and ability to attract investment but are also a “fundamental barrier to decarbonizing steel production in the UK, raising the costs considerably of doing so.”
Stace added that the sector’s measures to lower uncompetitive prices over the last four years should have been included in the White Paper to provide a foundation to the steel industry to “thrive in a post-Brexit market and as a route to Net Zero steel.”