When Mortels Sheepskin Factory at Thornton converted its power to solar about five years ago, the electricity bills were halved.
But now those bills have risen back to their pre-solar levels, even a bit higher.
Add to that increases to freight costs, and the business, like many others, is feeling the pinch.
"We're a little uncertain how it's going to impact us," general manager Stephanie Mortel said.
The company is still in a good position, Ms Mortel said, and they've been able to absorb the costs and maintain their range of products.
But that's not the case for many Hunter businesses, with worker shortages, cost of living pressures and the lengthy recovery from COVID-19 all taking their toll on owners and operators.
A recent Business NSW survey of 900 of the state's enterprises found 30 per cent of small businesses will have to close if the next NSW government does nothing to improve business conditions.
Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes said his organisation was hearing about the strain from its members.
"We're hearing regularly anecdotal evidence about the struggles and in our business condition surveys the cost of energy is being rated a 10 out of 10 concern for over 27 per cent of the businesses in the Hunter, which is fairly dramatic," he said.
"So it's just been impossible for businesses to budget for the outcomes that they've experienced - the supply chain disruptions, the power cost increases, the concerns they have with getting labour."
Ms Mortel said while she is about 15 per cent short on staff, she remained optimistic about the year ahead with backpackers returning in greater numbers after the pandemic.
She would however like to see increased visa processing and immigration to help with labour shortages, greater government assistance with compliance matters and increased housing to help the small business industry.
