Britain’s steel producers are sounding the alarm over a widening electricity price chasm with European rivals, warning that the escalating Middle East war has pushed UK power costs to levels that threaten the industry’s survival and could derail the Government’s flagship Steel Strategy.
In its response to the Government’s publication today of findings from the consultation on the British Industrial Competitiveness Scheme (BICS), trade body UK Steel has offered cautious praise tempered with a stark warning: while the new scheme will deliver meaningful relief to parts of the steel supply chain, it does nothing to tackle the crippling wholesale electricity costs squeezing steelmakers themselves.
The numbers make sobering reading for anyone invested in the fortunes of British heavy industry. UK steelmakers are now paying up to 77% more for electricity than their counterparts in France and Germany, a yawning gap that has ballooned from roughly 25% in a matter of months. Indicative industrial prices for 2026 place UK costs at around £84 per megawatt hour, against approximately £48 in France and £65 in Germany.
The fallout is measured in tens of millions. Without intervention, UK Steel calculates the industry will shoulder an additional £82 million in annual electricity costs compared with operating in France, a burden that risks stalling decarbonisation projects, bleeding order books to continental rivals and undermining the credibility of the Government’s Steel Strategy.
The BICS itself has been broadly welcomed for what it does offer. The scheme will materially reduce electricity bills for parts of the steel supply chain and energy-intensive assets that have until now fallen outside existing support frameworks. For companies previously ineligible for any relief, it represents a significant and overdue lifeline.
The sticking point is that steelmakers themselves already benefit from similar support via the British Industry Supercharger, leaving the core competitiveness challenge untouched. That challenge has been brought into painful relief by the Middle East war, which has sent wholesale gas and electricity prices surging and exposed once again the UK’s structural dependence on gas-driven power pricing.
Frank Aaskov, Director of Energy and Climate Change Policy at UK Steel, said the scheme was a helpful step but fell short of addressing the fundamental problem.
“The BICS will bring welcome relief for parts of the steel supply chain and manufacturers not currently covered by existing schemes and materially lower their energy bills,” he said. “But it will not lower electricity prices for steel producers themselves, who remain exposed to exceptionally high wholesale power costs.”
Aaskov added that the deterioration had been rapid and severe. “That problem has intensified sharply in recent months. As a result of the Middle East war, UK steelmakers are now paying nearly 80% more for electricity than competitors in France and Germany, up from around 25% previously. This is happening despite the support already in place and reflects the UK’s continued exposure to gas-driven electricity prices.”
The industry body is pressing ministers to go further, advocating for a wholesale price rebalancing mechanism along the lines proposed by consultancy Baringa. Such a measure, UK Steel argues, would realign Britain’s industrial power costs with those of continental competitors and restore the investment confidence the sector urgently needs.
“To make the Steel Strategy a success and deliver the Government’s industrial and decarbonisation ambitions, additional measures are now essential,” Aaskov said. “That means targeted action to bring wholesale electricity prices into line with our European competitors that gives industry the confidence to invest.”
For SME suppliers woven through the steel value chain, from specialist fabricators to downstream manufacturers, the stakes are considerable. A weakened domestic steel industry would reverberate through thousands of smaller firms whose order books depend on healthy demand from the big producers. The question now facing Westminster is whether a partial fix is enough, or whether bolder intervention on wholesale pricing is the only credible route to keeping British steel in the game.
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UK steelmakers face 77% electricity price gap as Middle East war deepens competitiveness crisis
