The industrial electricity price must come. And it must come quickly. The Steel and Metal Processing Trade Association (WSM) agrees with IG Metall on this point. “But it must come for all,” the association stressed on the unions’ day of action (March 9) for affordable industrial electricity. “Those who restrict the politically controlled electricity price to ‘energy-intensive companies’ are thinking too short. This will not be able to prevent the feared migration and job losses across the board,” emphasizes WSM CEO Christian Vietmeyer.
© WSM
Limitation could pull plug on “non-energy intensive” companies
Affordable, internationally competitive electricity is vital for the survival of any medium-sized steel and metal processing company. High electricity prices in Germany are not only a burden on energy-intensive sectors such as the steel and chemical industries, they affect every branch of industry.
Christian Vietmeyer: “The steel processing industries in the value chains in particular need the relief just as urgently.” The WSM fears that limiting it to selected industries could pull the plug on many. It speaks for about 5,000 companies with approximately 500,000 employees, a significant portion of which are classified as “non-energy intensive.”
Politically controlled limitation of the electricity price must take everyone with it
“So many companies are already maxed out, many are living on substance,” Vietmeyer points out. “The impending consequences of the financial overburden are becoming more visible every day: less scope for investment, lack of funds for transformation, reduced competitiveness. This makes it all the more important to impose a swift, politically controlled cap on electricity prices that takes all industrial companies with it. Without exception.”
Web:
www.wsm-net.de
