The “punishing” price of wholesale electricity is making it uneconomical to make steel at certain times, an industry body has said.
Director General of UK Steel Gareth Stace said wholesale prices had quadrupled to upwards of £1,000/MWh. He said some companies were being forced to temporarily pause production when the price went “through the roof”.
UK Steel said electricity costs accounted for up to 20% of the price of converting raw materials into steel.
“If you take a company like Celsa in Cardiff, they are using the equivalent of half the electricity in the city,” Mr Stace said.