The Rose and Crown pub in Merseyside has warned that “action is needed urgently otherwise thousands of small businesses will disappear this winter”, after being quoted £61,667 for an annual electric bill by British Gas.
The pub took to Twitter to post a picture of the quote, stating: “Just thought I might update you on the latest ‘best’ energy deal available for a pub of our size. We were paying 15p/unit in May. This is the best quote available today.
“Action is needed urgently otherwise thousands of small businesses will disappear this winter.
“To combat the energy crisis if anybody would like to collect firewood from the park and leave it at our back gate we’d be much obliged. Fear not, cask beer and candles will be the way forward. Soz [sorry], no cold lager, coolers too expensive to run.”
The image shows British Gas quoting a “standing charge of 40.00p/day” as part of an annual energy deal for a pub of its size.
A host of chefs and operators in the hospitality industry, as well as trade bodies, are also calling for urgent government intervention and an energy price cap for businesses, with many fearing the impact rising energy prices could have on the sector.
Sacha Lord, night time economy adviser for Greater Manchester and chair of the NTIA, retweeted the pub’s comments, stating: “There is no energy price cap for hospitality. An untenable situation. Without intervention, we will sadly see closures like never before in our lifetime. It’s criminal.”
In a later tweet, he added: “I strongly urge the new PM to announce hospitality intervention measures next week. I’ve never had as many calls from operators. Scared, anxious, stressed. Ready to give up. The whole sector is now unviable and we’re witnessing closures every hour. A VAT cut is essential.”
Ofgem announced last week that the energy price cap will increase to £3,549 per year for an average household from October, as its CEO also warned of the hardship energy prices will cause this winter, urging the incoming Prime Minister and new cabinet to provide an additional and urgent response to the ongoing surge in energy prices.
Responding to the announcement, UKHospitality Chief Executive, Kate Nicholls, said: “While the energy price cap doesn’t apply to businesses, this steep rise for already cash-strapped consumers means they’re likely to cut back on visiting hospitality venues or, worse still, stop going out altogether. Higher energy prices also affect our sector’s employees, who now face even higher energy bills.
“Without an urgent and comprehensive government support package that helps both households and businesses, many hospitality venues are contemplating reduced trading, resulting in lower wages or lost jobs for staff who need their jobs more than ever if they’re to heat their homes.”
