BUSINESS owners and workers came together last week to protest at a huge hike in their electricity bills.

There are concerns that the increase of more than 400 per cent in electrictity charges on the Lydney Harbour industrial estate will force businesses to move or even close down.

Firms on the estate were sent letters recently telling them that a new contract had been agreed between the landlords and electricity company Ecotricity and insisting bills were paid in 14 days.

The new contract will be renegotiated from July.

Phil and Linda Thorne, who run engineering components manufacturing company Custom Moulded Polyurethane, were hit with a 426 per cent increase.

Under the previous contract they were paying around £1,800 a month for electricity to run their energy-intensive processes.

Mr Thorne said: “My bill for January 5 to February 8 is £9,455.94.

“It is going to kill us. We employ nine people. I have to find £60,000 between now and July to pay for electricity alone.”

Estate managers Aquarius Real Estate Management have told businesses on the estate that the rise was unavoidable because of market conditions but they expect the rate for the next contract to be somewhere between 28p and 35p.

Aquarius are also due to meet with businesses to discuss the concerns.

On Friday (April 21), businesses came together on the estate to show their anger at the situation.

Mrs Thorne said: “People are coming together, they are angry.

“Why are we the only estate that is having to pay this extortion?

“It’s double the local going rate, that is what is killing everyone.”

The cost of electricity for the business has increased from 18.3p per kilowatt hour to 78p per kilowatt hour, said Mr Thorne.

He said: “We were on the (former landlords) Beachley Properties electricity contract 0.183p per Kwh and we were enjoying that up to December last year.

“We were waiting for it to go up and I was expecting it to double which is what was happening around the Forest of Dean.

“Ginger Energy, which is a consultancy, came up with this 78p contract – and that is after a government subsidy – until July.

“We were hit with a bill for £9,500 that should have been £1,800 to £2,000.

“No matter how small a business you are, it will be relative.

“Businesses are going to go under on this estate without a doubt.

“Nobody is going to move onto this estate, they are going to look at the price of electricity and say “no thanks”.

“This has got to be the highest kilowatt per hour charge in Gloucestershire.”

Aquarius said there is a large range of businesses on the estate with varying needs which had to be balanced fairly.

They were working with specialists Ginger “to help us navigate the complex energy market and identify the best fit, best value contracts for our portfolio.”

They say the new contract “reflects the current market rates available” and that supply prices for after December 2022 were exceptionally high.

With government support until the end of March – which has been passed onto tenants – and the possibility of prices falling if there was a mild winter, the decision taken was to continue with previous suppliers Ecotricity on its shortest contract period.

A letter sent to businesses on the estate says: “This decision has been proven to be the right one, as the market has substantially reduced during the first quarter this year and this short contract will mean we can ride the wave and benefit from these future reductions from July 2023.

“In essence this short-term hike will over the longer term, prove cost effective.

All options are currently being explored. The market indications are that prices we anticipate for the next contract would be around 28-35p base rate subject to no major changes in current market conditions.

“Understandably Occupiers are concerned about the increase in energy costs but we remain committed to ensuring that the best value, best fit contracts are identified for the site.”