The electricity cost for the Swedish producer Lessebo Paper has unprecedently increased from €3 million to €19 million per year. The drastically increased electricity price is forcing Lessebo Paper to halt production as of today Wednesday, August 31. A decision for production will henceforth be taken daily depending on the electricity price. The spot price for electricity in south of Sweden, has significantly increased for the past months.
On August 31, the electricity price was at a level of EUR 518,73 per MWh resulting in a daily electricity cost of more than €58,000 for Lessebo Paper. As a result, on Wednesday August 31, production at Lessebo Paper was paused. Going forward a decision for production will be taken daily depending on the electricity price for the upcoming day.
The paper industry is electricity-intensive, and the electricity price increases will most likely, not only affect Lessebo Paper, but several industries in south of Sweden.
“Since autumn 2021, the electricity price has gradually increased, and we cannot see that the increases have slowed down, rather to the contrary. Historically, the winter period usually entails high electricity prices and the fact that we already have record high electricity prices in August is a concern.” says Jens Olson, CEO at Lessebo Paper
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