As the public consultations on the EU Electrification Action Plan (EAP) have concluded, the European steel industry very much looks forward to the adoption in early 2026 of a comprehensive, consumer-focused and bold Action Plan to restore affordable electricity in the EU industrial sectors and herewith revamp EU progress toward the attainment of its climate neutrality and industrial strategic autonomy objectives.

Increasing the rates of fossil-free electricity consumption in European industrial sectors requires a massive and rapid reduction of the costs associated to electricity consumption from lowering wholesale market prices to ensuring a true decoupling of fossil-fuel prices from electricity prices in long-term contracts. Moreover, increased transparency on the displacement of fossil-fired power plants from the merit-order in short-term markets is a necessary instrument in tracking the effectiveness of increased investments in new generation capacity in reducing prices and costs for consumers and investors, alongside a timely assessment of alternative market-design models which reflect the changing energy outlook and scenarios of the EU.