Cost of living: The energy crisis leaves North Kirklees businesses and charities in ‘desperate’ need of help

Prime Minister Liz Truss launched the Energy Price Guarantee in the House of Commons in September, meaning that a typical UK household will pay no more than £2,500 a year on gas and electricity for the next two years from Saturday October 1.

Businesses, charities and public sector organisations will also see their costs capped at the same price. However, this will only be in place for six months and reviewed after three months.

One Kirklees business owner who has expressed his concerns is the landlord of the Wickham Arms in Cleckheaton, 74-year old Stephen Hey.

Mr Hey, who has run the pub for 32 years, fears he may be driven out of business because of the dramatic increase in his electricity charges.

The pub’s bills have already increased from £10,000 to £56,000 a year and he fears they may have to close their doors if they continue to rise.

Mr Hey said: “The Government is not reading the country right, they don’t realise how desperate we are.

“There are endless people as we speak closing their doors because they can't afford their electricity bills. How many more people are going to go under?

“Until we receive our first bills we don't know what it's going to cost .But I know for certain that it's going to be nowhere near what is needed.

“My broker has told me that they will probably set the charge of KWH to around 40p an hour, but that is not set in stone, if it is that will actually make my electricity bill just over double - it’s still not enough.

“All this is doing is making everybody very insecure and it's not just my staff and customers it's the same for every fish shop, restaurant and nursery, ect - everybody is in the same boat.

“If she's [Liz Truss] so committed to new business why can't she spare more to keep existing businesses afloat?

“It’s frightening and it makes you feel desperate and hopeless.”

As well as expressing his concerns for his business, Mr Hey is also concerned about the household cap of £2,500.

He added: “They should have capped the prices, especially for pensioners to £1,500, I think £2,500 is too high for a lot of pensioners - they require heat in winter and this won’t cover it.

“It’s very high for a lot of people, £1,500 would be better or even sending it back to normal.

“There are going to be some really desperate people who I am dreadfully sorry for.

“It seems like the Government is just not listening to us. It is very difficult to convey the urgency that the general public and small business need - we need urgent attention and we are not getting it.”

However, it’s not just local businesses that are concerned, charities are also worried about where they will find the funds to meet the increasing utility bills.

A local charity that has raised concerns is the sight-loss organisation Outlookers, and has seen a 150 per cent increase in its utility bills.

Mark Owen, chief operating officer at the Outlookers charity based in Batley, said: “Community buildings are at the heart of the areas they serve.

“Whilst we understand that support with energy costs is coming which we desperately need, we, like many other charities and businesses will need to know the details before we can fully assess how much help it will actually be.”

Another organisation that has expressed concerns is Bramwell’s C.I.C, a social enterprise that supports the community with free advice, food, gas and electricity.

Founder of the social enterprise, Tanisha Bramwell said: “90 per cent of requests that we are getting right now are not just food parcel requests, they are also asking for aid with their gas and electricity.

“In fact, I am probably seeing more requests for gas and electric then I am for food right now.

“The £2,500 cap that has been put on is appalling, it’s not going to work and it's not good enough. People can’t afford it.

“I engage with families who are reliant on electricity because they need machines for their grandparents, mothers and children who are sick. They need electricity running through their homes 24/7, they can’t afford £2,500.

“I meet people that come to our foodbank and their hands are freezing cold and it's not even that cold yet, but it’s because they haven’t put their gas on in over two months.

“The gas and electricity cap at £2,500 is simply not good enough, especially for the working class in this area.

“We should be seeing that reaction, that we are seeing at a grassroot level, replicated in Parliament by the MP that was nominated to do that job, which we are not seeing right now.

“We should also be organising strategic partnerships with grassroot services and the local authority to ensure that we can all support as many people as possible, rather than wasting money and time duplicating work.

“It's not though anyone's fault of their own, but we are not communicating enough as services, that should be prioritised.

“If something isn't done now, we could see lives lost to this over winter. We should never be saying that, but it's the reality of people's lives.”

For more information about the Energy Price guarantee, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support/energy-bills-support-factsheet-8-september-2022