ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steelmaker, warned that Germany’s proposed energy reforms would prompt companies to scale back investments as it becomes harder to make money in Europe’s biggest economy.

Germany’s cabinet last week backed a plan by Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel to reform the way Germany supports renewable power production, including requiring industries that produce their own power to start paying charges as well, after rising costs have burdened household bill-payers.

“Nobody is saying that we’ll start closing plants tomorrow,” Frank Schulz, head of ArcelorMittal’s German business, told Reuters.

“But if the threats become more concrete now, companies will be increasingly cautious when it comes to investments.”

Schulz said the proposed reforms would add €30 million a year to the cost of operating ArcelorMittal’s four plants in Germany, which employ about 8,000 workers and were unprofitable in 2012.

Of that cost figure, more than €20 million would come from green surcharges.

The money goes to green energy producers under a feed-in tariff law guaranteeing them above-market earnings. Producers of power for their own use so far have been exempted from paying the surcharges.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.