The battle for electricity continues

Luleå The new industries for fossil-free production of iron and steel being built and planned in Norrbotten will require large amounts of electrical power. This has led to a tug of war for electricity, which will not be enough for all the plans unless production and the electricity grid are greatly expanded.

When the state-owned steel company SSAB recently published its earnings report for the fourth quarter and full year last year, it also announced that it had secured electricity for the new steelworks in Luleå. It has been allocated line capacity by state-owned Vattenfall Eldistribution, which is responsible for the regional electricity network.

However, SSAB's private competitor H2 Green Steel in Boden, which will also produce fossil-free steel, did not receive a new allocation of power, which it needs for the second phase of the steel plant's expansion. They have previously been awarded for the first phase.

When it became clear that it had not received an allocation for phase 2, H2 Green Steel notified Vattenfall Eldistribution to the Swedish Energy Markets Inspectorate to have that decision reconsidered. They also wanted Vattenfall Eldistribution to be prevented from implementing decisions already made, i.e. allocating electricity to SSAB.

The Energy Markets Inspectorate has not yet taken a position on the complaint.

Lennart Håkansson

editor@northswedenbusiness.com