A family-run pub in the heart of the Swansea valley has seen its gas bill rocket to ten times what it was. Suzette Sims, who runs the Butchers arms in Alltwen, was used to spending an average of £964 in a typical winter month. But last week, the 56-year-old was sent a bill of £9,000 for a period of just six weeks from the middle of August to September.
After calling her energy supplier on Friday, October 7, to query the bill, which had been sent to her in the post, she received a follow-up call to explain that the unit price had gone up ten times and she was asked to call back to work out a payment plan. Before April 31, Suzette was on a fixed contract rate which had a unit charge of 3.25p per kilowatt of power, but from August 21 the company's flexible rate sky-rocketed to 34p per kilowatt of power.
Suzette explained that The Butchers had closed each week for two and a half days, a measure that had been put in place since the business struggled during the pandemic. Due to hot weather in August and early September and an issue with their boiler, she said the heating was not even turned on until the third week of September. You can read more stories about Swansea here.
Read more : Pub forced to close as bills rocket from £600 a month to £1,000 a week
This has only added to her confusion at what has led to such an eye-wateringly expensive bill as she said it was just the kitchen that was using the gas. Suzette's electricity bill has also risen from around £800-900 a month to £1,463 as of last week.
"I'm devastated. You just feel so deflated. There doesn't seem to be anyone to help you," said Suzette, who has worked in the catering industry for 40 years and has leased her Alltwen pub for 14 years.
"It would be so easy to give the keys back to the landlord but I've been here for such a long time. We've got a lovely trade and we want to keep on going. It feels like you get to this stage of life and it seems like something's happening every day. It's getting harder and harder to trade on a daily basis." You can get more Swansea news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
It is not just the gas and electricity bills that have been soaring, Suzette explained that she now did most of the food shops herself so she could keep track of rising prices. While she said she used to pay £7.99 for six tins of tomatoes, she now pays £21 for the same amount. Two weeks ago, a ten-litre drum of oil, which once cost £17.99, cost her £40.99.
"Everyone is worried at the moment, the meat suppliers, the fish suppliers. Everyone is in the same boat," said Suzette. Although she is struggling to pay the ever-increasing bills, Suzette said she was still trying to keep prices down for customers as people did not have the money to spend more on meals out at the moment.
On her plans moving forward, Suzette said she had been unable to speak to the energy company but wanted to find out what her tariff would be going forward.
"I'm still in shock to be honest with you," said Suzette. "Obviously, I'm going to speak to the company again and see why they think they can generate this sort of bill in such a short period of time. I don't know, it's just exhausting. We've literally been through so much, it's crazy."
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