Carlisle United expect their energy bill to rise by a six-figure amount this season.

The Blues say rising energy costs means they are likely to be hit for an extra £100,000 over the 2022/23 season.

Chief executive Nigel Clibbens revealed the figure as he underlined the various challenges of life at United’s ageing Brunton Park stadium.

“With global energy costs rising fast and expected to remain high for years to come, we face increased stadium costs,” he said.

“We expect circa £100,000 of extra energy costs in 2022/23.”

Clibbens made the comments in United’s newly-published 2021-22 accounts.

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The director also highlighted the cost of flood insurance at Brunton Park – which remains £50,000 higher than before Storm Desmond, he said – as well as the need to resolve the long-term stadium issue at the club.

Clibbens said “the challenges of the facilities are increasing,” as United have reported in past years.

He added: “Despite new work in 2020/21 by the Environment Agency to mitigate flood risk in Carlisle, Brunton Park remains in a high-risk area for flooding, and most areas of the buildings are well over 50 years old.

“Climate change worsens the risks. At the same time, the flood insurance available to us is continuing to be constrained and high cost.

“Our insurance costs remain £50,000 per year higher than before the 2015 flood cost.”

In terms of work on Brunton Park day to day, Clibbens said United “continue to make modest improvements”, but “the task is becoming more challenging and more focused on safety-critical areas only.

“A number of areas require material investment.”

He stressed that the long-term issue of where United play remains a “top priority” for the club to address.

And Clibbens said it was only something that could be resolved once the Blues’ long-term ownership ‘succession’ situation was clearer.

And it would also require input from various bodies.

“There remains no ability for the company [United] to self-fund a new stadium from its normal trading activities,” he said.

“This severely constrains the options.

“To date no steps forward have been taken or are planned in 2022/23 while long-term ownership of the club is unclear.

“Meaningful progress beyond the current approach will need a united and community-based approach, with fans and public and private sector working together.

“This inevitably requires long-term planning and leadership and crucially, certainty over the future direction of the club.

“Club ownership is central to this. It remains the case [that] the stadium issues cannot be addressed until resolution of questions over long-term ownership, direction and vision of the club are clear.

“This means succession must be resolved first, before any steps can be made.”

United had planned to move to a new ground at Kingmoor Park under ‘Project Blue Yonder’ proposals unveiled in 2011, but the plans – which were to be underpinned by an enabling development – failed to get off the ground.

Another idea, based on a new ground at Carlisle’s Viaduct Estate several years later, also did not progress from the drawing board.