ArcelorMittal reduced electricity consumption by three times

Currently, the plant is operating at only 20-25% capacity due to power outages

ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih reduced electricity consumption by three times compared to the pre-war period. Normally, the plant consumes 400 MWh, while now it consumes 120 MWh. Mauro Longobardo, CEO of ArcelorMittal, informs about it, reports Forbes.

In October, due to mass shelling of the energy infrastructure of Ukraine by Russian troops, problems with the supply of electricity arose at the steel plant. Currently, even 120 MWh is not always available, the CEO of the plant notes.

Due to insufficient energy supply, ArcelorMittal operates at approximately 20-25% of its capacity. In addition, according to Mauro Longobardo, the work of the enterprise was significantly affected by problems with logistics.

“The steel plant produced 6 million tons of steel and 80% of it was exported through the ports in Odesa and Mykolaiv. Now the government is looking for opportunities to use the ports for the products of steelmakers, but so far without success,” the message says.

At the same time, the company, together with Ukrzaliznytsia, has developed a mechanism for exporting to Poland or Romania, but there are restrictions on the volume of transportation, so the steel plant has increased transportation costs by 5 times.

“Currently, the energy supply has stabilized, but with the expansion of production volumes, the issue of electricity will become the main problem. We are not able to restore profits due to these factors,” added the CEO of ArcelorMittal.

As GMK Center reported earlier, ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih is on the edge of a shutdown due to the blockade of Ukrainian ports and low steel prices. This was stated by the plant’s CEO Mauro Longobardo in an interview with the Financial Times. Mauro Longobardo noted that the export of steel by land to European countries is unprofitable. Currently, the steel plant operates only one blast furnace, producing 100,000 tons of products per month.

After the missile attack by Russian troops on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine in October 2022, problems with the supply of electricity to Ukrainian enterprises were added to the above-mentioned factors. About 40% of the energy infrastructure is currently seriously damaged.