The delay to Port Talbot’s new electric arc furnace has prompted a cross-party call for answers at the Senedd, with members pressing both Tata Steel and the National Grid.
The £1.25bn furnace, central to the future of steelmaking in the town, could be held up by up to eight months because of delays to the power infrastructure the National Grid is building to run it.
Elyn Stephens, Plaid Cymru MS for Afan Ogwr Rhondda, said the delay was “another blow to the communities I represent”.
She said it meant a longer wait for much-needed jobs and economic regeneration, and created further uncertainty for local residents.
“I have contacted Tata directly this afternoon and will be making further representations tomorrow,” she said.
“People in Port Talbot deserve honesty and transparency about when this development is expected to be delivered.”
Huw Irranca-Davies, Labour MS for Afan Ogwr Rhondda, said the news — coming on top of the recent fire at the works — had caused understandable concern for the workforce, unions and the wider supply chain across Wales.
He said he had already been in contact with Tata to seek assurances that the transition to electric steelmaking was proceeding and that the jobs relying on it were protected.
Irranca-Davies said he understood Tata might issue a further statement in the coming days, which he hoped would offer reassurance that the difficulties would be overcome.
He added that he had accepted a place alongside other local members on the Tata Transition Board, and had asked the UK government and the new Welsh Government — including the Cabinet Minister for Enterprise, Adam Price — to support the move to electric arc production.
The delay also drew comment from the Welsh Conservatives. Janet Finch-Saunders, the party’s shadow minister for enterprise, connectivity and energy, called the situation “deeply concerning”.
She said the furnace was “a vital investment for the future of Welsh steelmaking, jobs and economic growth”, and that the National Grid and the UK government “must urgently work together to resolve these connectivity issues and ensure this strategically important project is delivered without further delay”.
The interventions follow a similar call from David Rees, the former Aberavon MS who chaired the Senedd’s cross-party group on steel, who said the National Grid should face penalties if the connection slipped further.
The electric arc furnace is designed to make lower-carbon “green steel” by melting scrap rather than burning coal, replacing the blast furnaces that closed in 2024 with the loss of around 2,000 jobs — part of a wider £1.25bn transformation of the works.
It relies on a major grid upgrade — including a major substation expansion approved by the council earlier this year — which the National Grid has said is running late because of ground conditions and planning issues.
Tata has said the project timeline “continues to evolve” and that it is working to deliver the furnace “safely and as quickly as possible”.
