The hospitality sector is sounding the alarm over surging costs, with energy bills leading the climb even as central authorities impose caps to curb runaway prices amid the ongoing crisis. An internal report from Asturian hospitality association Otea, obtained by La Nueva España from the Prensa Ibérica group, shows bill increases commonly reaching triple figures. Heating and gas bills have jumped by more than 65 percent, while raw material costs have risen about 21 percent due to inflation. Taken together, these shifts create a cost escalation that hoteliers say is hard to bear.
To gauge how government measures might affect partner businesses, Otea conducted a September study estimating energy bills for Asturian operations. The forecast shows gas costs rising around 100 percent, with electricity bills climbing between 128 and 162 percent depending on the billing period. The pattern observed in actual receipts aligns with these projections, showing increases up to 200 percent for electricity and up to 65 percent for natural gas.
The mood inside the sector is described as worrying, especially as winter approaches and energy use is expected to spike. While hoteliers report no sharp drop in customers, they acknowledge the lingering effects of the pandemic and the inflationary pressure that continues to squeeze margins. Given the rise in energy costs and raw materials, staff costs are also likely to rise. Some businesses might pass these costs on to consumers through higher menus, but many professionals fear this would dampen demand and erode competitiveness.
clean accounts
200% Electricity Increase
Electricity bills have surged by as much as 200 percent in numerous dining and catering establishments recently. This occurs even with the gas price cap, which has kept bills below what they would have been without the Iberian exception.
65% Gas increase
Heating expenditures are also rising sharply, affecting building operating costs and forecast to climb further during the winter. Some hoteliers worry that a portion of businesses may struggle to cope with the January ramp-up.
21% raw material
Beyond energy, raw material prices have climbed by roughly 21 percent. The simplest response for consumers would be higher prices, yet hoteliers know that would erode competitiveness and hurt attendance.
Another concern is weak end-of-year dining reservations, with large companies extending offers well before the pandemic. The rise in electricity costs is not only a business concern but also a ripple for private consumers who encounter the so-called gas cap on their bills. The mechanism behind this cap and how it affects charges remains a focal point of discussion.
A practical example shows how the gas cap model works. A homeowner in Villaviciosa, Asturias, who uses the residence only on weekends, describes a typical setup: a refrigerator, an automatic garage door motor, a pool pump running a few hours daily, and evening lighting. This scenario could yield an extra charge labeled as the adjustment mechanism of Royal Decree 10/2022, amounting to around €129.68 in a single period.
Why do bills rise when gas costs become unpredictable?
What is the gas cap cost on bills?
The gas cap affects consumers in the free market. While some customers in the small consumer category may not notice it because they already pay market prices, the cap represents the portion charged to cover the actual gas-based generation costs when gas prices spike, above the cap. The result is a bill that reflects real production costs rather than a hypothetical cap.
Wasn’t the gas cap meant to lower bills? Why the extra charges?
In practice the cap makes the unit price lower, since the per kilowatt hour price is set by the most expensive source required to meet demand, typically gas. Without the cap, consumers would pay the full market price for every kilowatt hour, regardless of energy source. The cap ensures other energy sources do not push prices higher than the gas-based limit, while gas plants are compensated for the true costs of the energy they generate. This keeps bills more affordable than they would be without the cap, though an additional line item may appear for the gas cap cost.
An illustrative example
Imagine a home where 20 percent of energy comes from nuclear at 0.1 euros per kilowatt hour, 47 percent from renewables at 0.15 euros, and 33 percent from gas at 0.4 euros. If three kilowatt hours are consumed, the old system would have charged 1.2 euros at 0.4 per kWh. With a gas cap of 0.2 euros per kWh, the bill would reflect 0.6 euros of consumption plus a 0.2 euro gas cap surcharge to account for the higher gas generation costs. In this setup, the total would still be higher than a capped scenario that would otherwise cost 0.8 euros, illustrating why the cap and its adjustments matter for overall billing.