Popular family-run business hit with 'shocking' electricity bill

THE OWNER of a family-run business popular with Limerick people has called on the government to "save rural towns and villages" after she received an electricity bill worth €20,000.  

Flora Crowe, who runs Crowe’s supermarket in Sixmilebridge in Clare said she was “shocked” after opening the energy bill, despite retrofitting the entire store in 2021 in an effort to reduce costs.

“How am I going to pay this? I can’t. We are a family run business,” she told Limerick Live.

How’s your day going …. pic.twitter.com/vYGGGPerKJ

— Flora Crowe (@floracrowe) November 8, 2022

Last year, the store, which houses a scratch bakery and a deli, managed to reduce its energy bill to €6,500 after extensive renovations to its lights and fridges.

Since then, the 23 locally-employed members of staff have been made aware of energy saving measures, such as turning off the lights and oven where possible.

Despite this, Crowe’s still received an electricity bill for €15,000 this September and knew that an even bigger increase was “coming down the track.”

“We are high energy users, and this was never going to work. We have to turn on the oven to bake bread and we need our fridges. The cost increase is just too high,” Flora said about the latest bill.

She is calling on the government to reclassify energy costs for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in rural areas, warning that “if they don’t, rural Ireland will be dead on the ground.”

Flora also noted that consumer spending has dropped in the last month and while she was reluctant to consider any job-cuts, she said: “If I keep paying these bills, we will have to close our doors.”

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Cathal Crowe TD, who represents Clare, said that the Temporary Business Energy Support Scheme to be introduced will help shops like Crowe’s (no relation) by paying 40% of their energy bill increases.

Announced on Budget Day, it will provide funding of up to €10,000 per month. Despite this, Flora said that with bills like this month's, her family-run business will need help with the other 60%.

“A business like Crowe’s shop in Sixmilebridge has so many overheads and bills like cooling and heating that will not go away,” Deputy Crowe told Limerick Live.

When asked if government can reclassify electricity costs for SMEs, he said: “During Covid there were a range of supports and there was an in-built flexibility.

“We need the same flexibility built in with this business grant, and I will be talking to ministers about this in the coming week. Flora has no guarantee that her next bill will be lower than this, if anything it will probably be higher,” he said.

Flora hopes that this may be the “catalyst” for government action to help save businesses like hers.

“Whatever hope we had in September of paying, we have no hope this month and absolutely no chance of paying the bill in January,” Flora added.