Cork hotelier in shock as electricity bill increases by almost €10,000 in a month

A hotelier has said he is shocked that his electricity bill has more than doubled, and increased by almost €10,000 in a month.

The owners of the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery, Co Cork, are the latest to incur “bill shock” as a result of escalating electricity prices.

General manager Neil Grant said their bill in June this year was €8,900. In July it was €18,262. The equivalent bill in July 2021 was €8,324.

Mr Grant said they had expected a spike in their electricity bill in July and had budgeted for about €15,000. The kilowatt hours that were budgeted for that figure were less than were actually consumed, yet the bill turned out to be much worse than expected.

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“We knew we were out of contract. We knew there was going to be a hike. At first we thought it was 20 to 30 per cent, but then it became very evident that it would be double or triple,” he said.

“This is on the energy companies. This is the new normal they are presenting us with.”

Mr Grant declined to name his electricity provider, but said: “They are all the same. Any way you slice or dice, none of them want to commit to long-term deals and when they do their unit rate is even higher.

“Whichever one you go to has a hidden variable charge which is so convoluted. They were one of the bigger suppliers. Our June bill was €1,000 more than we budgeted for.

“To see the [July] bill was 10 grand more was staggering. We were a little busier in July, but not by much. Our consumption wasn’t off the charts and we did nothing wrong.”

Mr Grant said he expected the Celtic Ross Hotel to survive, but he believes a lot of hospitality businesses will go to the wall.

He said their electricity bill is the equivalent of €10 per guest per night, and that the hotel has dispensed with Sky TV for guests as an economy measure.

The size of energy bills now being received by small business owners was highlighted by a cafe owner in Athlone, who revealed that her bill for 10 weeks of electricity from June 8th to August 19th was €9,836.92.

Read more on the Cost of Living

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Geraldine Dolan, the owner of Poppyfields Cafe, will go on the Late Late Show on Friday to highlight the issue.

She said she is one of the first business owners to get a higher bill because her contract was up on September 1st.

The prospect for business owners as they face into the winter is bleak, she says. “The new rates being looked for are horrendous, all up in the 45 cent per unit and no chance of a contract at a lower price.”

She questioned why the cost of electricity had escalated so quickly, when it was clearly marked that 62.7 per cent of her power had been generated by renewables.