There is truly nowhere to run to nor anywhere left to hide in this accelerating energy crisis as Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi yesterday urged households to cut back on consumption to tackle rising bills. 

The irony of such an appeal from a man who owns a £100 million property empire is thick indeed, as is the cavalier assumption that it hadn’t already occurred to most to turn off the lights when leaving an empty room. 

This predicament is fast approaching disastrous proportions with confirmation yesterday that the energy price cap is set to jump by 80% to £3,549 per year on October 1, plunging millions of additional households into fuel poverty and putting swathes of businesses in jeopardy. The forecast from analysts at Cornwall Insights – who have been frighteningly accurate so far – is for the price cap to breach £6,600 in the second quarter of next year. 

While Mr Zahawi insists his party’s lame duck administration is ready to leap into action once a new Conservative leader is chosen on September 5, it’s going to take far more than a few clever energy-saving tips to avert a catastrophe that will make the fallout from the Covid pandemic pale by comparison. 

READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Bewildering Tory detachment as grim winter looms

Business editor Ian McConnell argues that that the Tory leadership contenders, Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak, seem “alarmingly unperturbed” by the dire cost-of-living crisis: “If ever there was a need for a Government made up of people, whatever their political persuasions, who could at least in broad terms relate to the financial challenges facing ordinary households, it would be now.” 

There are equally distressing warnings coming from the business community. Earlier this week US giant CF Industries announced that it is suspending production at the UK’s only remaining fertiliser plant near Middlesbrough as it is now “uneconomical” to operate the facility.  

CF is the UK’s biggest producer of CO2, a by-product from making ammonia that is used to put fizz into beer and stun poultry and pigs before slaughter. The move has raised serious concern across the food and drink industry, with the British Meat Processors Association warning of potential animal welfare issues if large numbers of pigs and poultry are unable to be sent for processing. 

READ MORE: Crieff Hydro chief warns of closures as cost rises hit hard

Every business is being affected by the continuing increase in energy costs, and none are protected by any price cap. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) says it has heard of big energy companies refusing to supply some small firms for fear that they could go bust, and in some cases even asking for upfront payments of up to £10,000. 

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce has warned many businesses are close to collapsing, and has joined the FSB, CBI and others in calling for urgent government action. The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) says its members are at the brink, with some pubs and restaurants considering closing over the winter period because they are unable to absorb recent sharp increases in energy bills. 

In an interview earlier this week with deputy business editor Scott Wright, Crieff Hydro chief executive Stephen Leckie told The Herald there will be “significant closures” across the industry as tourism and hospitality businesses grapple with a barrage of soaring costs: “On the profit front, this year is going to be as tough as Covid, as tough as lockdown, because of the costs.”