Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Estimated electricity bill rise of £73k could ‘kill’ restaurant
AWARD-WINNING Fife chef Jamie Scott has branded a £73,000 hike in his electricity bill “a farce”.
Jamie, who won MasterChef: The Professionals in 2014, owns The Newport Restaurant in Newport-on-Tay.
In Dundee he also operates Wrecking Ball Doughnuts and Hard Grind Coffee, which also has an Arbroath cafe.
He revealed yesterday he is facing a £90,000 annual bill for electricity at The Newport, up from £17,000.
He said: “I feel like we’re quite an energy-efficient company and we always try to be as sustainable as possible.
“We used to make stocks overnight, but now we do things differently. We are very careful as to what’s left on overnight – all we leave on are the fridges and freezers.”
He said the news, delivered over the phone on Tuesday afternoon, was a shock and added that he had prepared for his electricity bills to double, but was astonished to be told they would increase by more than £70,000.
“The standing charge has gone up from 22p to £4.47 and that’s the thing that kills us,” he said.
“It did feel like a bit of a kick. It’s just been allowed to happen.
“If you came to my restaurant, people know it’s £70 for 10 courses – we don’t then present a bill for £500.”
He said the lack of a cap for businesses would be an issue going forward for firms and is working out ways of recouping energy costs. He added that the £90,000 he was quoted is just an estimate.
Jamie is now looking at an electricity bill across all his businesses running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
He said: “It’s terrifying. My wife keeps saying if Covid didn’t kill the business, the energy crisis will.
“We felt like we thrived through Covid and learned to grow.
“The community gave us their support, but now we feel we’ve nobody to turn to. It does feel like we’re getting kicked.
He added: “We already know people aren’t able to eat out as often.”
Jamie is now also looking at investing in solar panels.