Lessebo Paper production halt due to €16 million in increased electricity cost

Paper Solutions

The electricity cost for Lessebo Paper has unprecedently increased from €3 million to €19 million per year. The drastically increased electricity price is forcing the company to halt production as of 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. With the electricity price at a level of around €518,73 per MWh, this results in a daily electricity cost of more than €58,000 for Lessebo Paper.

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,’ said Jens Olson, CEO at Lessebo Paper.