German rebar producer Feralpi Stahl, a subsidiary of Italy-based steelmaker Feralpi Group, has resumed its operations, following a technical error on EPEX Spot, Europe’s electricity exchange, which caused electricity prices to surge to their highest level since August 2022, according to local media reports.
After the spot electricity prices reached as high as €2,000 per megawatt hour on June 26, the company decided to stop production for a full 24 hours in order to wait and to avoid paying exorbitant prices.
Uwe Reinecke, general manager of Feralpi Stahl, stated that, since they meet their energy requirements from short-term electricity trading due to their very short order lead times, unlike other steelmakers which have long-term contracts and pay a fixed price, the surge in price hit them significantly.
Though the steelmaker resumed production after the prices returned to normal levels, concerns about the energy crisis remain.