British steelmakers and other big manufacturers are being forced to pay twice as much for their electricity as competitors in Germany, increasing the burden on the industry as it struggles to compete against overseas rivals.
With Tata, Britain’s biggest manufacturer, blaming “cripplingly high” energy costs for its decision this week to shed 1,200 jobs at its plant in Scunthorpe, British companies are paying forward power prices of £41.90 per megawatt hour for the year ahead. That is almost double the €28.95, or £21.45 per megawatt hour, being paid in Germany for the same wholesale contract, according to Marex Spectron, the energy consultancy.
Jeremy Nicholson, director of the Energy Intensive Users Group, which represents Tata and other big British manufacturers, said that the disparity was growing