James Ces, club secretary at Vale of Derwent Social Club in Rowlands Gill, described his fears after facing bills in excess of £1,300 for both fuel types.

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Mr Ces told The Northern Echo that he did not know how his business would survive with such high energy bills as many have been left struggling across the UK.

Under his old tariff, Mr Ces pays £600 for his gas and electricity, however, he is expecting to see an increase to more than £1,300, which he said would “cripple" him.

James Ces, club secretary at the Vale of Derwent

Mr Ces, who is currently with British Gas and E.ON, has since called on the Government to do more for businesses who he said are still recovering after the Covid pandemic.

He said: “It’s just unbelievable I don’t know how we’re going to survive, I don’t know whether we can afford that.

“Luckily we have a few pounds put away because the building where in at the moment is going through a sale and we have had a deposit on it, but if we weren’t in that position, we would have to literally go up for sale, but that’s all been sorted.

He said that as a result of soaring energy bills, the club had been forced to up its prices in order to cover the costs of the increase.

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He said: “I don’t know how other pubs and clubs in the area are going to manage, we’re having to put our prices up by 20p today because the breweries have put theirs up.

James Ces, club secretary at the Vale of Derwent Social Club

“What we were thinking is we might have to put them up by 50 to 60p when these electric prices start coming in."

Mr Ces expressed further concern, but this time for households who will have to decide whether to “heat or eat” during the winter months.

He said: “Obviously with all the Covid stuff and now this Ukraine crisis, it’s just going through the roof and it’s very, very worrying."

It comes as The Northern Echo has heard from countless people finding themselves in the same situation following a hike in their energy bills.

Meanwhile on social media, many reported that their prices had more than doubled.

One person said: “I was paying £50 a month for gas and electric, I’m now paying £150 a month for both."

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Another person said: “Mine has doubled – was £80, Shell recommended I pay £135, so Increased to £160 to try and build a bit of credit for when they increased again at the end of the year.”

Another added: “We were paying £80 a month for both, but this has increased so twice so far in less than a year and I’m currently paying £148 a month, and this is with solar panels.”

The Northern Echo has contacted British Gas for a comment as well as the Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy.

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