Urgent help needed over energy crisis

It would almost be laughable if it was not so serious. At a stroke, restaurant entrepreneur Jamie Scott is facing a hike of £73,000 to his annual electricity bill for his renowned Newport eatery.

That figure is incredible, but it is not a mistake.

Jamie now has to find the equivalent of three average full-time wages in Scotland for his business to stand still.

Where is that money expected to come from? There is no magic money tree, so can Jamie reasonably pass that cost on to his customers and pay the bills that way?

Or does he look at how he can pare back his operation in some unpalatable way to ensure there is enough flex in the budget to cover the uplift?

There are hard, potentially lifechanging, decisions that will have to be made.

Jamie is far from alone. Other businesses are also feeling the squeeze, just as hard-pressed households up and down the land are scrabbling to find the money to pay to keep a roof over their heads and food on the table.

The cost-of-living crisis is most cruel to those already most in need.

It is squeezing people to the point they have nothing left to give up or cut back on.

Now the wheels of business are slowly grinding to a halt as cost headwinds mount up and disposable income ebbs away.

This is not something that individuals or small businesses such as The Newport can sort out alone.

This is a structural problem that requires out-of-the-box thinking and fleet-footedness.

It requires major government intervention to protect people and the companies that will help drive the economy forward in better times.

Sadly, those things seem to be in short supply right now.

Entrepreneurs like Jamie have an incredible knack of making a silk purse out of a sow’s ear and he and others will, we hope, find a way not only to survive but to thrive.

But help is needed.

That call – both from the public and private sectors – is being made loud and clear and those in positions of power must listen to it and take action.