When chef and restaurant owner Michael Clay was told he would have to pay £32,000 to exit an energy contract he signed up for last December, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Michael owns the small pizzeria Dokes in Prestwich.
It was founded on using local ingredients instead of imported stuff that’s flown miles around world to get here, when we have some of the best produce right here on our doorstep. But like all hospitality businesses in the city, he’s being hammered on all sides by huge increases in all of his costs.
Most pressing of all is energy. When he opened the restaurant last year, he was paying 17p per unit for his electricity. His contract with Colchester-based Pozitive Energy came up for renewal in December last year, at the peak of the energy crisis, at which point he faced a choice; closing down or agreeing to a staggering increase - 70p per unit, in a contract to last 12 months.
