Butler Works steel plant jobs could be at risk if DOE proposal becomes law

BUTLER COUNTY, Pa. — More than a thousand jobs could be at risk if a Department of Energy proposal becomes law.

The Butler Works steel plant, owned by Cleveland Cliffs, manufactures grain-oriented electrical steel. It’s used in creating transformers. The DOE wants to move to a different type of steel the Biden administration calls “more energy efficient.”

Butler Works is the only plant in the country that makes grain-oriented electrical steel.

“I think it’s wrong-headed. I think it’s too soon,” Republican Congressman Mike Kelly said. He represents Butler County.

Kelly authored a bill with Democrat Chris Deluzio that would stop the change.

“We’ve got to meet our climate goals but we also need industrial capacity here at home,” Deluzio said.

Both congressmen say the goal is twofold: Keep 1300 jobs in Butler County and protect the country’s supply chain.

You can find the proposed bill here.

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