A bar owner says he is worried about the future of his business after his energy costs trebled in a month.
Haydn Price who owns Eagle bar on Charles Street in Cardiff city centre says the venue's energy bill went up "three fold" on January 1, as the energy crisis starts to hit businesses across the country.
Experts have warned that energy costs could rise by up to 50% for millions of households from April, with a further increase to bills expected later in the year.
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However, some households and businesses have already started to feel the strain of the rising costs as annual tariffs come to an end.
Mr Price said he was given a three month warning that his tariff would rise, and that his business has already felt the brunt of the change. He also said that when looking around for an energy provider, he found many were reluctant when they found out it was to provide for a hospitality business.
"As a small bar it has such a huge knock on effect, because it's such a huge hike in costs," he said.
"Half the companies won't even quote when they know it's a hospitality business.
"No reason has been given at all. We think it's because hospitality gets closed down by the pandemic, and the energy companies don't get any money then. They are trying to cover themselves if we get closed down again. Or like we are at the moment where we are only open certain hours, we are not using the electricity we would have been using. And of course they have lost 18 months because of all of the closures. They are trying to claw it back."
Mr Price said that while they were expecting some increase in cost, they were "astonished" by how much it had increased. He said he thinks many more businesses will struggle with the rising costs as more and more become affected.
"The concern is, we're not talking a small hike, we're talking a three fold increase in energy charges and it's expected to go up again," he said.
"Before the pandemic, hospitality businesses were already hit hard because people's lifestyles were changing. We can't just put up prices when our overheads go up because we've got to compete with others in the area. If we are expensive people will vote with their feet and won't come in. That's what worries me."
Data by The Office for National Statistics published on January 20 showed that two-thirds of UK adults have seen their cost of living jump over the past month as energy bills soared.
It found that 66% of adults surveyed saw their cost of living increase. It also found the impact of the Omicron variant of coronavirus on UK businesses last month, with the highest proportion of firms reporting falling monthly turnover since the height of the first lockdown in April 2020.
Mr Price said that while now is a worrying time, the future also looks bleak for the market.
"The worrying thing is, come April we've got a new minimum wage, new taxation, new insurance and things like that - and nobody takes into account how we are getting it, we can only pay that if we pass it on to our customers.
"Of course it raises concerns, because these days any business that holds their head above the water is doing well. So many businesses have gone under and not just small ones but huge ones like debenhams and topshop. So it's even more of a struggle for little tiny ones that rely on special events to bring in money, but all of that is being eaten up by these extra costs.
"I was astonished, we first had our notification in September and I was absolutely astonished."
Energy bills are expected to keep rising at least until 2023, according to energy bosses. There is no sign that energy market prices will begin to fall and the cost of failed energy suppliers – which is paid through energy bills – is expected to continue to rise.
Mr Price said he has chosen to put the business on a monthly tariff currently in the hopes that rates would go down, despite this looking increasingly unlikely.
"We're doing month by month one at the moment, we're pretty certain we are going to sign a longer term one but the worry is what is going to happen in the future? if we sign a longer one now we could be lumbered with that for a year. It's the uncertainty that concerns me," said Haydn.
"When the only way you can recuperate your costs is to pass it on to your customer, who will also be worrying about the cost of living increasing and worrying about their prices, it's a concerning situation for any business to be in. The customers are going to have to tighten their belts, so what do they do? stop going out, then my business goes down the pan."
Mr Price said that the energy crisis is the tip of the iceberg of the last two years which have been marred by restrictions. As a small bar, he says that his capacity is usually around 70 people.
However, due to restricted numbers, they now can only allow 26 people inside.
He said that the struggle is compounded by the need to hire more staff in order to comply with the restrictions.
"It literally is one thing after the other. We were getting back on our feet in September or October time, then we heard about the energy crisis, then the new variant hit us, then the restrictions over Christmas and new year, it has been constant.
“During December when we should have been making money people weren't coming out because everyone was being careful, and you can't blame them. So we haven't had a chance to build up our reserves that usually see you through the quieter months. We've been struggling to keep our heads above water as it is.
"With the restrictions too, on a normal weeknight on a quieter night we could get away with one person running the bar. But now, we have to get one person in for the bar, one person on the door signing in and taking customers to the tables, one person taking drinks to tables.
"We're not alone in this. We appreciate the pandemic and why this has been done but it is a strain on resources in January at our quietest time."
At the moment the bar is open at reduced capacity and hours due to restrictions, however, with costs already rising he is worried as to how he will be able to afford to open as he used to.
"The more you're open, the more your costs go up. When you're closed you've got your basic costs like your fridges, but when you're open you've got lighting, heating - and because we're a basement bar we've got circulation running through.
"It all adds up. You start to think 'we haven't got many in, shall we cut the heating a bit because we can't afford it, but if it's too cold people won't stay. You can't win.
"It is a worry, it's a deep concern. We don't know what to do for the best but something needs to change."
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