The American steel industry is reaping the benefits of the AI data-center construction boom. But now, steelmakers are warning of a high-stakes competition with their data-center customers for a commodity they both require: electricity.
Data centers’ insatiable demand for electricity is driving up power costs for steel companies by tens of millions of dollars a year and threatening the companies’ operations, according to a new report from the Steel Manufacturers Association.
“We as an industry are very reliant on electricity to make steel,” said Rob Simon, chief executive of JSW Steel USA, which uses an electric furnace at its Mingo Junction, Ohio, plant. “We’ve had stable electricity prices for decades, and now we think that’s at stake.”
Read more in the Wall Street Journal here.
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