Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty's Government why the British steel industry is paying more for electricity than its counterparts in Europe; what is the average megawatt price for steel producers in the UK; and how it compares with the cost of electricity for steel producers in France.
Answered by Lord Henley
Between 2005 and 2010, industrial electricity prices rose by 64 per cent. Including taxes, industrial electricity prices rose from 4.77 pence per kWh in 2005 to 7.84 pence per kWh in 2010.
The steel sector has received more than £295 million in compensation since 2013 to make energy costs more competitive, including over £53 million during 2018. In addition, between 2017 and 2019, the Government has introduced policies that provide eligible steel producers with an 85% reduction in renewable energy policy costs in their electricity bills. Last year we announced the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund worth up to £315 million to support businesses with high energy use to transition to a low carbon future and to cut their bills through increased energy efficiency.
Between 2010 and 2017, industrial electricity prices (including taxes) have risen from 7.84 to 9.79 pence per kWh, an increase of 25%.
Asked by: Lord Morris of Aberavon (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government, further to the answer by Lord Bridges of Headley on 25 February (HL Deb, col 389), when they first made representations to the EU Commission as regards allegations of dumping of Chinese steel; when action was taken by the Commission; and what assessment they have made of whether the Commission took effective and prompt action.
Answered by Baroness Neville-Rolfe - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The European Commission currently has 37 measures in place against steel products, 16 of which concern imports from China.
The government makes regular representations to the European Commission concerning allegations of dumping of steel. The government judges each anti-dumping investigation on its merits, based on the evidence presented by the Commission and on representations from interested parties, including producers, users and importers. We have supported industry calls for action in recent cases, for example in the reinforcing bar case we have raised the steel industry’s concerns that the provisional duties were too low with the Commission. My Rt Hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills spoke with Commissioner Malmström about this and received assurance that the Commission will reconsider this during the definitive stage of the investigation, if industry can provide the necessary evidence.
Given the current crisis in the steel industry, we continue to press the Commission for faster, more effective action to deal with dumping of steel.