According to media reports, the Polish steel industry is immediately appealing to both the national government and the European Commission, calling for electricity prices to be lowered to €50/MWh for energy-intensive industries. At the recent New Industry Forum in Katowice, Miroslav Motyka, President of the Chamber of Metallurgical Industry and Trade, stressed that the industry has already proposed concrete solutions, but immediate implementation is required. Stating that without competitive electricity costs, Poland risks losing its competitive advantage over other European steel producers, he noted that the current average wholesale price of electricity for next-day delivery in Poland is about €97.96/MWh, compared to the EU range of €51.4-114.6/MWh.
As previously reportedSteelOrbis The German government is introducing a capped electricity price for industry and countervailing measures for energy-intensive sectors, including a ceiling of €50/MWh and a three-year support package of €4.5 billion starting in 2026.
Strategic pressure: energy cost and decarbonization
Representatives of the Polish steel industry said that the problem for the Polish steel sector is multifaceted: the cost of energy remains "a key barrier to the recovery of the industry," while pressure is growing to modernize blast furnace operations and introduce carbon capture technologies, rather than switching exclusively to electric arc furnaces.
