<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/15/extreme-heat-driving-up-power-bills-central-australia-prepaid-electricity-northern-territory>
"Since the start of summer, Vanessa Napaltjari Davis and her grandchildren have
sweltered in their two-bedroom home. Temperatures in the southern half of the
Northern Territory have been well above average and the electricity running
their single air-conditioner has been regularly disconnected.
“We almost had 40 days over 40,” she says. “I was struggling to keep on top of
the power bill and keep my little grannies [grandchildren] cool.”
Davis, an Arrernte and Luritja woman, lives with her granddaughter and two
great-grandchildren in Nyewente, also known as Trucking Yards, one of 18 town
camps that surround Alice Springs.
Her home, like others in the town camps, is state-owned and in desperate need
of an upgrade. But since the NT government installed a prepaid electricity
smart meter on her house a few years ago, she has been struggling to keep the
lights on.
“I usually put $70 a week on my electricity when it’s normal temperature, and
it will last me until the next pay week,” she says. “But because of this
extreme hot weather, that $70 is only like two or three days.”
The NT has just experienced its 10th hottest January on record and it’s
expected to get hotter, as the climate crisis drives even more extreme
temperatures. There are already warnings that Alice Springs and the surrounding
central desert communities could become too hot for humans.
To keep the electricity on, Davis must top up her prepaid card at the service
station or local grocery. When credit on her card runs out, the power to her
home automatically disconnects, cutting off access to lights, refrigeration and
cooling.
She is one of more than 65,000 Aboriginal people relying on prepaid electricity
in the NT, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. On average, these
households experience 49 disconnections a year – or nearly one a week – due to
unaffordable bills, a 2025 study by the First Nations energy justice
organisation Original Power has shown."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
