U.K. Extends Energy Aid to Keep Factories From Shutting

The U.K. government stepped up financial help for energy-intensive companies, such as steelmakers, facing surging costs from spiking power and gas prices in recent months.

Britain’s Energy Security Strategy confirmed it would extend a compensation program for another three years that gives electricity-intensive industries a refund on the cost of the emissions trading scheme. Under the current formula, about 60% of expenses are compensated, and officials said they would now look to increase that to 100%, according to the document published Thursday.

In Britain, steel plants are among the most energy-intensive industries, struggling to deal with surging costs. Across the whole of Europe, industrial sites have been disrupted in recent months as power and gas prices gained to unprecedented levels, stoked more recently by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That’s caused some facilities to curtail output. European Union countries are seeking to agree on a fifth round of sanctions on Russia, including on energy imports, a move that could send prices even higher.