“To avoid shutting down a considerable part of the energy-intensive industry in Romania and to ensure its future, maintaining competitive energy costs remains a priority: we need electricity and natural gas prices that are sustainable, predictable and affordable to ensure fair competition on the international market,” Bors said at a conference on energy efficiency.
According to Bors, energy-intensive industries in Romania contribute 32.5% to the gross domestic product, but the steel industry currently lacks access to state-of-the-art technology to lower energy consumption, as this is very expensive.
EU legislation, however, bans the steel industry from receiving state aid.
Among possible solutions, Bors said the industry should have access to EU funding to invest in energy efficiency and environmental projects, there should be a scheme to ensure the indirect compensation of CO2 emission certificates, and state aid.
He added ArcelorMittal has an investment program of over EUR150 million for 2012-2015 that targets lower energy consumption and lowering the industry’s environmental footprint.
Even though these investments have helped the company lower its lag compared to the best steel plants in Europe by more than 80%, increased energy efficiency was unable to compensate for an exponential rise in energy costs in recent years, he said.
According to Bors, the company invested more than EUR200 million in Romania in 2009-2013, even though it incurred losses.
Electricity and natural gas account for 70% of ArcelorMittal Romania’s energy consumption. During the economic crisis, the company’s steel output dropped from 4 million to 2 million tons.
ArcelorMittal has four production units in Romania and exports more than 70% of the local output.