The owners of British Steel in Scunthorpe are understood to have requested an urgent package of financial support from the government to help meet rising energy costs.
Funding, which could run into hundreds of millions, is said to be needed - as without it the two huge blast furnaces that drive steel-making will not be viable to run. Gas is a huge energy feedstock at the sprawling North Lincolnshire works, where more than 3,000 are employed, with a further 1,000 in the North East and at other sites.
Prices have soared due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine putting a squeeze on supply, with much of mainland Europe dependent on Vladimir Putin’s regime. Alternative sourcing, further exacerbated by the sabotage act on the Nordstream pipeline, puts pressure on wider resources. The industry has also been campaigning for action to mitigate impact of pricing structures on energy-intensive industries since well before hostilities began.
