Steel industry: Federacciai warns that high energy costs are putting production continuity at risk

In light of the “extremely serious situation regarding electricity and gas prices”, which is affecting Italy’s energy-intensive industries and, in particular, the steel sector, the Executive Committee and the General Council of Federacciai note that “in the coming months there is a risk that the situation will worsen further, with possible repercussions on production continuity and the risk of plant shutdowns due to the economic unsustainability of energy costs”. In this context, marked by an energy crisis exacerbated by the international geopolitical situation, “it seems increasingly difficult to understand the application of the ETS system to emissions from gas-fired power stations”, says the association, adding that “the ‘Bollette’ decree, which was also intended to address this critical issue, has now been stalled for months at European level”.

Federacciai therefore believes it is necessary for “Italia to work in all relevant forums to secure a temporary suspension of the ETS for the thermoelectric sector during the emergency period and to work, alongside other European countries, to move beyond a system which, in the absence of a genuine single European energy market, risks fuelling further imbalances between the various economies of the Union”.

It is also considered essential that “the Italian Government reaffirms all the mechanisms – including interruptibility, interconnectors and energy release – which provide remuneration for services rendered to the national electricity system and which, in recent years, have helped to mitigate the impact of high energy prices on energy-intensive industries”. Despite these mechanisms, however, “Italian energy-intensive companies continue to face significantly higher electricity costs than their European competitors”, explains Federacciai.