Nancy Urbaez, owner of the beauty salon Hermanas Minyetty in Puerto Rico, fears she may have to close her business because of a sharp rise in her electric bill. Five employees depend on the salon’s income. Her electricity bill used to run between $300 and $400 a month.
It has since climbed to $2,400 and, in the most recent month, above $3,255. Urbaez has worked for years from sunup to sundown to keep the business going. The increase in operating costs, particularly electricity, has led her to consider closing a business she describes as one of her biggest dreams.
Her concern, and that of her daughter Katis, is no longer only how much it costs to keep the salon open but whether they can continue at all. A closure would mean leaving behind years of effort and a clientele that over time has become part of the family. It would also leave the five employees without their livelihood.