Hungary firms feel the heat as electricity cost soars

Описание: (14 Sep 2022)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Budapest – 12 September 2022
1. Tilt down to costumers in Zing burger restaurants
2. Various of food under heating lamps
3. Costumers and cashier
4. Various of staff preparing food
5. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Richard Kovacs, business development manager of Zing Burger:
"Our energy prices have either tripled or increased seven and a half times. It depends on how you look at it, from the last December prices to February-March prices, or the most recent bills in August."
6. Various of staff preparing food
7. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Richard Kovacs, business development manager of Zing Burger:
"We're really in a difficult situation because we don't know how we can further reduce our energy use. We still have energy contracts valid until 2023, but the supplier can terminate them at any time on the grounds that it cannot supply at the given price."
8. Various of food under heating lamps
9. Various of staff preparing food
10. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Richard Kovacs, business development manager of Zing Burger:
"We don't know how we can further reduce our energy use in our systems. We can't turn off the lights and make our guests sit in the dark."
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Budapest – 10 September 2022
11. Various of staff at Babushka Artisanal Bakery preparing sweet bread
12. Pan of bakery owner Eszter Roboz at work
13. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Eszter Roboz, owner of Babushka Artisanal Bakery:
"We think that a two-fold increase in energy costs still fits into the operation of our business and into our calculations, but in the case of a three- to four-fold increase, we will really need to think about whether we can continue this. So far we hope that we won't reach that point and we'll be able to keep working."
14. Various of costumers being served
15. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Eszter Roboz, owner of Babushka Artisanal Bakery:
"When we first heard the news, we obviously started thinking about how we can save on electricity consumption. Our first thought was to somehow be even more careful to keep the baking oven running as short as possible."
16. Staff putting cakes onto the selves
17. Roboz at work
18. Wide of the bakery
19. SOUNDBITE (Hungarian) Eszter Roboz, owner of Babushka Artisanal Bakery:
"The future of the business is important. On the other hand, the livelihoods of five families depend on our decisions about the rising energy prices."
20. Roboz preparing cakes
21. Roboz putting the cakes into a baking oven
STORYLINE:
In Hungary, sudden cuts to a popular household utility subsidy have caused a dramatic jump in gas and electricity bills with many consumers, especially businesses.
Some are seeing a 750% increase in electricity bills since the beginning of the year.
Richard Kovacs, a business development manager for the Hungarian burger chain Zing Burger, said some of the chain's 15 stores have seen a 750% increase in electricity bills since the beginning of the year – leading to additional monthly costs of up to 1.5 million Hungarian forints ($3,840) per store.
"We're really in a difficult situation because we don't know how we can further reduce our energy use," he said, adding that the company tried to conserve energy even before prices exploded.
"We knew when to fire up the grills and the toasters, when to turn on the lights in the dining area," Kovacs said.
The company has installed motion detecting lights in the storage rooms to save on electricity.
"We can't turn off the lights and make our guests sit in the dark," he said.
But even such solutions have not been enough to spare other similar businesses, she said.

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