Thousands of Businesses Closing in Europe Due to High Energy Bills That Make it No Longer Possible to Stay Open
Over the past week, shocked Europeans - mostly in the UK and Ireland - have been posting viral photos of shockingly high energy bills amid the ongoing (and worsening) energy crisis. Several of the posts were from small business owners who getting absolutely crushed right now, and won't be able to remain operational much longer. As the Irish Times reports, "The cost of electricity to the Poppyfields cafe for 73 days from early June until the end of August came in at €9,024.70 an increase of 250 per cent in just 12 months. There doesn’t include the €812.22 in VAT, which brought her total bill to €9,836.92." "How in the name of God is this possible," tweeted cafe owner Dolan. Europe is facing economic devastation and depression at a scale that will make 2008 seems like a walk in the park. As the FT reports, German manufacturers are halting production in response to the surge in energy prices, a trend the government has described as “alarming”. German economy minister Robert Habeck said industry had worked hard to reduce its gas consumption in recent months, partly by switching to alternative fuels like oil, making its processes more efficient and reducing output. But he amusingly clarified, some companies had also “stopped production altogether” — a development he said was “alarming”. “It’s not good news," he said, “because it can mean that the industries in question aren’t just being restructured but are experiencing a rupture — a structural rupture, one that is happening under enormous pressure.”
