Cafe's electricity bill up 400% to nearly €10,000 as business costs bite

Geraldine Dolan of the Poppyfields Cafe in Athlone in Co Westmeath sparked national interest after tweeting a screenshot of her latest electricity bill for €9,836.92.

A coffee shop owner, left reeling after receiving an electricity bill for just shy of €10,000, has said her costs have skyrocketed in the past year.

Geraldine Dolan of the Poppyfields Cafe in Athlone in Co Westmeath sparked national interest after tweeting a screenshot of her latest electricity bill for €9,836.92.

"How in the name of God is this possible, we're just a small coffee shop in Westmeath," she tweeted. 

I got this electricity bill today, how in the name of God is this possible, we're a small coffee shop in westmeath pic.twitter.com/uz5J8BePhB

— poppyfields cafe (@DolanGeraldine) August 29, 2022

As reported in the Irish Times and on RTE's Liveline, Ms Dolan said it was "crazy" and left her "reeling".

Ms Dolan told Liveline her electricity bill had risen by more than 400%. 

The latest bill was for a period of 73 days, while her previous bill was for exactly two months at €2,370.

Ms Dolan said she had moved from Bord Gáis Energy to Iberdrola, a Spanish-based energy provider, at the end of last year, but then had to move again when Iberdrola left the Irish market earlier this year. That meant joining Electric Ireland.

"Our rate increased drastically," she said, adding she intended to fight on, having operated the shop for more than 15 years.

She said she would be actively seeking out a better rate but added she would find it difficult to continue running her business if she was charged such a high cost for electricity every 73 days. 

Ms Dolan's initial tweet prompted calls from others for Electric Ireland to make contact in a bid to ease the financial burden, although the cafe owner said she would likely pay the bill for the energy used while seeking to switch to another electricity supplier. 

Energy prices have doubled since the start of the year amid warnings that they will rise further, the situation exacerbated by the war in Ukraine[.url].

The EU has said it is likely to intervene in a bid to ease pressure on households.

The cost-of-living crisis continues to impact families around the country, with Liveline listeners also hearing Liffey Valley shopping centre was introducing carpark charges, including for staff.

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Just this week, children's charity Barnardos warned the most vulnerable families were being hardest hit by the current cost-of-living crisis and that some faced the risk of becoming homeless unless supports were provided. 

Stephen Moffatt, national policy manager at Barnardos, said while some families would previously not have needed direct assistance in terms of food or energy vouchers, now almost every family dealt with by Barnardos family support services need those financial interventions.