DIRE WARNING: South Australian owned Small, Medium Sized businesses at risk of financial disaster – 56% rise in energy costs by end of 2024
Business Victor Harbor has warned of the dire consequences to all SA owned Small, Medium Sized businesses (SME’s), given the massive increase in energy costs over the next 2 years, rising 56%, more than double.
“As happened in 2016, with the South Australian total blackout, energy was then seen as a major cost of doing business for SA business owners – it was either no. 1 or no. 2 in the cost of doing business” says Mr. Colin Shearing, EO Business Victor Harbor
“With all the rhetoric and policy levers being pulled left, right and centre by all Federal & State Government persuasions, energy costs of doing business will end up overtaking as the top cost in running business in South Australia”
“In almost a decade, including the 2016 State total Blackout, it’s been SA owned SME’s that have had to weather the storm of energy costs and the on-going burden of wearing the brunt of making energy efficiencies”
“It’s not so bad for the corporates and larger businesses which can amortise their costs across using their buying power”
“This is just not possible for SA owned SME’s”
“The energy matter is at crises point. Our governments have been continually telling businesses that they will always be supported and will not be forgotten in times of crises or adversity – so let’s see the same leadership as we did with Covid, our terrible bushfires and most recently with the tragic floods across our nation.”
Mr Shearing, who was formerly the CEO, SA Independent Retailers, called for an immediate review of our nation’s energy sector back in 2016, when South Australia’s energy fate fell into ‘total darkness’!
He questions “What has both our State & Federal Governments done about reviewing the Energy sector since 2016, apart from ‘smoke & mirrors’ rhetoric and band-aiding this massive national issue?”
Mr. Michael Schubert, Chair Business Victor Harbor says, “For SA owned businesses this is a huge hike in energy costs, which will be disastrous”
“All consumers will be paying for it”
“Many businesses in our region will not be able to cope with these huge increases in energy costs and some will be forced out of business, which is not good for the owners, for staff and certainly not good for our local community”
Business Victor Harbor is calling on the Federal Government, and State Governments, to immediately ‘step up’ and review the regulatory segment and market of the nation’s entire Energy sector
Created with
