By Paul Homewood
h/t Philip Bratby
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
Soaring power costs and a lack of clarity around net zero are threatening the future of British industry, one of the country’s biggest manufacturers has warned.
Miles Roberts, chief executive of paper and packaging giant DS Smith, said the UK’s high cost of electricity compared to the US and Europe was hurting the competitiveness of its businesses.
He also criticised a lack of clarity on the Government’s plan to overhaul the power grid for the net zero era, warning that the situation threatened future investment in his company’s paper mill in Kemsley, Kent.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr Roberts said: “For us, infrastructure, distribution and energy are big costs.
“And in the UK, energy costs for heavy users are significantly ahead of those costs in Europe and very, very substantially ahead of our competitors in the US.
“So when we’re all having this debate about the future of Britain’s energy and the transition to green electricity, I think we need to be very clear about what that energy is, where it going to be and how it is going to be paid for.
“At the moment, [in the UK], we don’t have that. But in other countries, we do.
“If you don’t have the clarity, then that just delays the decisions and delays the investment that this country needs.”
He added that UK paper production had declined in recent years despite rising demand, with imports filling the gap.
“For the UK paper industry to continue to be competitive, the cost of energy needs to be addressed,” Mr Roberts said.
Manufacturers in the UK have repeatedly complained about the cost of power, which is higher than many other European countries.
The average British business paid 27.7 pence per kilowatt hour (KWh) for electricity in 2023, according to government figures, compared to 16.4 pence in France and 17.5 pence in Germany. Taxes made up around one fifth of the UK figure.
Since 2008 the bill of a medium-sized British business has increased by 230pc compared to a 150pc increase to the median cost across EU countries and the UK.