Lessebo Paper has paused production for six days because electricity costs have become too high. The development makes one point clear: for an energy-intensive manufacturer, power prices can become an operating threshold rather than simply another budget line.
SVT reported on 11 November that the mill faced an electricity cost of SEK 390,000 for one day of production on Monday. A paper mill depends on large volumes of power to keep its machinery running, so the cost can determine whether operating the plant makes commercial sense. SVT says Lessebo Paper employs 83 people and had revenue of just over SEK 333 million in 2025.
Chief executive Jens Olson called for action from the government and politicians. Ulrica Bennesved, regional director for the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise in Kronoberg County, told SVT that businesses in electricity price area 4 had signalled pressure from current prices and that some were assessing production hour by hour.
The production pause is the strongest reason to treat the situation seriously: the reported cost pressure has already altered operations at a real factory. But this case should not be stretched beyond the evidence. SVT does not say whether the six days were consecutive, what the stoppage has meant for staff, customers or orders, or how many other industrial businesses have halted production.
Still, Lessebo Paper exposes the practical consequence that can be obscured in the broader debate over southern Sweden's power prices. When an electricity-intensive mill switches off machinery, regional price differences become an immediate production question. Any response should be judged by whether it creates more predictable conditions for firms making day-to-day operating decisions, not merely by the force of political rhetoric.
Sources
- SVT Nyheter · Source date: 2026-11-11
Independent editorial content. WUA is not affiliated with any political party. 2026-11-11