Research: Continuous Gas Supply Essential for Production and Jobs

Longer-term disruptions in gas supply would lead to significant reductions in production and consequently also to job losses, especially in the industry, according to a recent poll by the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DUIHK).

“Enormous energy price increases are an additional burden on the competitiveness of companies. Most of them would pass on additional costs to customers, but at the same time the majority also want to implement more measures to save energy and increase energy efficiency,” the German-Hungarian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (DUIHK) wrote in a statement on Thursday.

Sixty companies took part in the chamber’s survey at the end of July, employing around 40,000 people, representing around 20 percent of all employees in Hungary’s corporate sector.

According to the statement, the survey showed that in the short term, the main priority of businesses is securing continuous energy supply in order to maintain production and protect jobs. Every third company surveyed could cope with short-term restrictions in the gas supply with no significant consequences; on the other hand, 35 percent expect a reduction in production in this case.

The consequences would be much more serious if the interruption in gas supply were to last longer. In this case, 42 percent would have to reduce their production.

Around half of the companies in the survey already faced price hikes for gas and electricity this year, for another 20 percent, energy providers have already announced higher prices, DUIHK wrote. The increase in purchase prices for gas and electricity is increasingly threatening competitiveness.

“Higher energy costs do seem to have a positive effect, too: around 60 percent of the companies surveyed want to push ahead with measures to save energy and improve energy efficiency in the light of the increased energy costs,” they added.

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