Large producers whose contracts with electricity suppliers are expiring these days must be prepared for a severe price shock. The price of electricity is not rising for the first time, so everyone, large, medium, and small entrepreneurs, as well as citizens, immediately gulp because they know that this will sooner or later reflect on them. And it will. Strongly. It is not the time to play the eternal optimist because this time the rise in electricity prices is not just a passing phase that is already cyclically alternating in eternal economic cycles of decline and growth. The transition to a low-carbon economy is writing different rules for the future in which the most commonly used energy sources are extremely expensive. Therefore, the rise in electricity prices will accompany us for at least a few more years.
– The rise in electricity prices on wholesale markets is periodically repeated; we last witnessed it two years ago. However, given the decarbonization policy of the European Union and the rising prices of carbon dioxide, it is estimated that this time the rise in electricity prices will last until 2024 or 2025 – warns Marija Šćulac Domac, director of the industry and sustainable development sector at the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.
A major shock in seeking offers for a new contract with electricity suppliers was recently experienced by the textile company Galeb. The most favorable offer implied an unpleasant increase in the electricity contract of 67%.
– We have no choice. With this increase, just like with the minimum wage that rises by five to six percent every year, we have to fight. The direct cost of rising electricity for Galeb means an additional €50,000 expense annually. That is a significant amount that will need to be covered in other cost items – explains Josip Aračić, CEO of Galeb, adding that many companies operating on the edge of profitability, faced with such a shock, will be forced to close.
