The steady rise in prices for electrical energy worldwide is the motivation to optimize the operation and process at the electric arc furnace especially concerning the injection technologies to decrease the electric power consumption. Lowest cost in conjunction with highest efficiency is the driving force today to run a melt shop successfully and in a competitive way. Only the use of chemical energy in the right way together with an optimized electrical operation pattern leads to the best performance. The paper describes the influences on energy consumption and gives examples of chemical and electrical furnace optimization.