LUDWIGSHAFEN (dpa-AFX) - With a rally in Ludwigshafen, the Mining, Chemical and Energy Industrial Union (IGBCE) and employees of the chemical industry have put pressure on the industry for a subsidized industrial electricity price. At the headquarters of the BASF Group on Tuesday, many participants carried signs with inscriptions such as "Affordable energy now" or wore caps with the slogan "We are fighting back". The organizers estimated the number of participants at more than 8,000 people.

Speakers at the event in the second-largest city in Rhineland-Palatinate included IGBCE Chairman Michael Vassiliadis, BASF Works Council Chairman Sinischa Horvat and State Secretary Heike Raab for the state government.

The IGBCE is calling for a price cap for electricity until 2030. To this end, it has joined forces with the DGB, IG Metall and industry associations in a so-called Alliance pro Brückenstrompreis. With more than 580,000 members, the IGBCE is the second largest industrial trade union in Germany.

"A bridge electricity price financed by taxes is of course the right answer," said Vassiliadis. The taxes would come back later. "This is an investment that will be repaid. If we lose this value creation, we won't be spending any money now, but we won't be taking any in in the future either."

BASF Works Council Chairman Horvat threatened to stage protests in Berlin if the German government did not take note of the demonstrations in Ludwigshafen and other locations. "If that is not enough, we will go to the Chancellery."

BASF site manager Melanie Maas-Brunner had said before the rally that the company supports an industrial electricity price for energy-intensive sectors for a period up to 2030 - such as the bridge electricity price proposed by the Federal Ministry of Economics. A transformation of the industry as a whole could only be achieved through electrification.

This will only work if the electricity price remains within reasonable limits, explained Maas-Brunner - otherwise European and German industry will have a problem remaining competitive. As production costs as well as electricity taxes and grid fees play a major role here, a differentiated discussion on how to reduce electricity costs overall is necessary./wo/DP/mis