The problems created for small business owners by the current rise in energy costs are two-fold. First, energy costs have increased rapidly over the last two years and even more so in the last six months. Small business owners are not able to adjust the price of their goods and services quickly enough to match the steep energy cost increases without hurting their customer base. Second, owners are not able to change business practices fast enough to offset the increases. For example, most owners cannot afford to buy new, more energy efficient equipment if current equipment still has useful life
