EU Power Bills ‘Triple’ Those of US Rivals
From Chronicle’s
By Peter Marsh
Concerns among European companies over the rising gap with US rivals in their cost of energy is mounting with two leading business groups raising alarm over the issue.The EU’s focus on pushing up use of renewable energy has led to sharp increases in energy costs in Europe, according to a “manufacturing manifesto” drawn up by Orgalime and Ceemet, two Brussels-based trade associations that represent 200,000 companies across the continent.
In contrast, the US has benefited from growing availability of cheap shale gas, leading to European manufacturers having to pay substantially more for electricity and gas suppliers than their North American rivals.Wolfgang Eder, chief executive of Voestalpine, a big Austrian steelmaker, said the growing gap in energy costs between the US and Europe was “dangerous for all industries based in the European Union, because energy costs do not only influence energy intensive industries … but also the entire industrial value chain”.
