Energy bills: Care home owner warns 'unsustainable rises will force us to close'

One care home owner has called for the sector's energy bills to be ringfenced

A care home owner has warned that many will be forced to close as a rise in energy bills turn "catastrophic".

Justin Russi, director of Hawthorns Lodge, said his sites are facing an increase of more than 500% in costs and called on the sector to be protected.

"If we have to pay these exuberant bills we will have no choice but to close, it's as simple as that," he said.

The government said it would support firms "in navigating the months ahead".

A typical household gas and electricity bill will rise to £3,549 a year from October, Ofgem announced on Friday.

The energy price cap rise - the maximum amount suppliers can charge households per unit - means millions of households will see their annual bills rise from about £1,971 at present.

Typical prepayment meter customers will also see an increase to £3,608.

• What can I do if I can't pay my energy bill?

Mr Russi - whose company operates four homes in County Durham and East Cleveland- said it was not possible to cut down on usage and increases would make it so "unsustainable" that care homes would "eventually go bust".

"We have to run 24-7 with the lights and heating on - people are old, people are sick, people have multiple problems with their health - they need to be kept warm," he said.

"If someone went into hospital you wouldn't expect it to be cold and dark, you would expect it to be well-lit and properly heated - the same within a care home for the same reason.

"If we are under funded by government, by local authorities - knowingly under funded - and we have to pay these exuberant bills we will have no choice but to close it's as simple as that."

A government spokesperson said no national government could "control the global factors" pushing up the price of energy.

It said it was a bringing in a number of measures including doubling its support for high energy usage businesses and reducing employer national insurance by increasing the Employment Allowance.

"We have also made over £1bn available specifically for adult social care this year via the Local Government Finance Settlement," it added in a statement.