Under the proposals for eligibility, UK sawmillers would not qualify.
Confor responded in the consultation process by demanding the rules be adapted to recognise the competitive pressures under which the UK sawmilling sector operates. Government sources estimate the exemption could be in force by next autumn, giving Confor until January to seek to influence the outcome.
Confor chief executive Stuart Goodall met Mr Rogerson and asked him to make representations to business secretary Vince Cable.
“We feel it is a big ask to make an exception for UK sawmilling, but we feel we have a good case and we have the support of Mr Rogerson, so we feel it is worth making the effort,” Mr Goodall said.
It is estimated that the relief could involve savings for the companies involved in excess of £3m a year by 2020.
The guidelines proposed by the Department for Energy and Climate Change and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills mean UK sawmills do not meet the electricity-intensity criteria of 7% for the sector.
This is a far higher threshold than the 3% hurdle for the Climate Change Agreement, which took Confor many months to convince DECC that the sector met. Furthermore, the electricity-threshold of 20% adopted under the business-level test approach would be too high for individual sawmill businesses.
“We propose that the regulations could better reflect businesses that are extremely trade-intensive and vulnerable to competition from abroad or include businesses which belong to a Climate Change Agreement scheme automatically,” Mr Goodall said.
