The pub and brewing sector has demanded action over energy price rises as more businesses face closure.

Energy regulator Ofgem is moving too slowly and not adequately disciplining suppliers to save businesses across the country from failure, the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) has warned.

The BBPA is insisting that Ofgem must step in and instruct suppliers to offer renegotiations of business contracts.

With just weeks to go until energy bills come in at the increased rate since government support fell away on 1 April, the BBPA says Ofgem must act now or risk businesses in key sectors in every part of the UK closing in the coming weeks.

BBPA chief executive Emma McClarkin said: “The alarm has been raised for months and in the next few weeks we will see just how severe the damage to pubs and brewers and thousands of other valued high street businesses is due to this energy crisis.

“Ofgem’s failure to adequately regulate energy suppliers which are profiteering at the expense of small businesses and domestic customers alike is astonishing. Swathes of community-minded, cherished businesses will be wiped out and high streets decimated if nothing is done.

“The fact it has stepped in to protect domestic customers shows it can act on misconduct but is doing very little to respond quickly to the hundreds of examples provided by our industry and others of unfair charges and unacceptable behaviour by energy suppliers to business customers.

“At the very least, renegotiation of contracts must be offered to those businesses which were forced to sign up to extortionate tariffs and are now completely unable to afford the costs following the reduction in energy support from government.”