ArcelorMittal, others warn of cuts if Bosnia doesn't curb power prices

Nikhil Mehta, the general manager of ArcelorMittal’s steel-making plant in the central town of Zenica, said a 125% hike in electricity prices, along with a 400% price rise for key input coking coal, would make production unprofitable.

“We really cannot survive with such kind of increases,” Mehta told a news conference in the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

ArcelorMittal Zenica uses around 500,000 megawatts (MW) of electricity annually.

In its new contract proposal, power utility EPBiH has offered ArcelorMittal Zenica a price increase of 70 euros/MW, equating to an extra 35 million euros ($41 million) a year, Mehta said.

He said losses would be lower if the company halted production and laid off workers rather than continued trying to operate under such prices.

ArcelorMittal employs 2,300 people at its Zenica plant, with around 10,000 more jobs linked to it directly or indirectly.