Thyssenkrupp steel boss: energy crisis 'hitting us hard'

DORTMUND, Germany (Reuters) - Thyssenkrupp's steel division, Europe's second-largest, is feeling the impact of soaring energy prices and welcomes this week's proposal by an expert commission to cap gas costs for industry, a senior executive said.

"The energy crisis is hitting us hard, for sure," Thyssenkrupp Steel Europe Chief Executive Bernhard Osburg said during the official inauguration of a new hot-dip galvanising facility that has cost over 250 million euros ($243 million).

The site requires as much natural gas as a small town, he said.

Osburg said that was why the company welcomes the commission's proposal to set a fixed gas price for industry at 7 euro cents per kilowatt hour from 2023, which applies to 70% of consumption, with 2021 serving as the benchmark year.

"This proposal should be implemented. It provides us with planning security for investments and upcoming tasks," Osburg said.

($1 = 1.0309 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Kaeckenhoff and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Miranda Murray)