LIBERTY Ostrava postpones restart due to disputes with energy supplier

The Czech plant had planned to resume operations in early January, but the restart has now been delayed until at least January 16

Czech steelmaker LIBERTY Ostrava, a subsidiary of British LIBERTY Steel, has postponed the restart of production until at least January 16, 2024, due to unreached agreements with energy supplier Tameh. This was reported by local media.

The company had planned to resume operations in early January 2024, but the restart was recently postponed to January 9 and later to January 16. Most of the plant’s 6,000 workers have been at home since December 22, 2023, when Tameh suspended energy supplies to its sole consumer, LIBERTY Ostrava, for non-payment of obligations.

At the moment, some workers at the enterprises are trying to protect equipment from damage as the cold snap approaches. Technical staff and the economic department are staying at home whenever possible. Further actions depend on the success of the negotiations between Tameh Czech and LIBERTY Ostrava,» the leader of the LIBERTY Ostrava trade union Petr Slanina said.

LIBERTY Ostrava and its subsidiaries employ approximately 6,000 people, while Tameh employs more than 300. Employees who perform the necessary maintenance or support the coke plant in hot mothballing mode are at their workplaces. In total, about 400 people.

As GMK Center reported earlier, on December 21, 2023, Tameh suspended energy supplies to LIBERTY Ostrava, which completely halted the plant’s production. The sole energy supplier stopped operations due to non-payment of bills by LIBERTY.

LIBERTY Ostrava, for its part, promised to resolve issues with creditors and align them with market conditions. In particular, the company has unveiled a production optimization plan that envisages the launch of blast furnace No. 3 in January. In addition, the company will focus on producing the most popular products and importing some raw materials.

LIBERTY Ostrava is an integrated steel plant with an annual production capacity of about 3.6 million tons. The company primarily serves the construction, engineering and oil and gas industries. The company is a leader in the production of road barriers and pipes on the Czech market. In addition to the domestic market, it supplies its products to more than 40 countries around the world.