‘What’s more important, the electricity or food?’ Heat and prepaid power push families to breaking point

A growing number of Aboriginal households in central Australia are facing repeated electricity disconnections during extreme heat as prepaid power systems, poor housing and rising temperatures collide, intensifying risks to health, food security and household finances.

In Alice Springs’ town camps, Arrernte and Luritja grandmother Vanessa Napaltjari Davis says the cost of keeping a two-bedroom home cool for her family has surged as temperatures climb. “We almost had 40 days over 40” she said, describing how her power is “regularly disconnected” in the hottest stretches.

Like many homes in the town camps, Davis’ house is state-owned and, she says, in urgent need of upgrades. But since a prepaid electricity smart meter was installed, the pressure has shifted onto the household to manage credit top-ups to avoid automatic disconnection. “I usually put $70 a week on my electricity when it’s normal temperature, and it will last me until the next pay week,” Davis said. “But because of this extreme hot weather, that $70 is only like two or three days.”

When credit runs out, power disconnects automatically, cutting off refrigeration, lights and cooling. Davis says the system forces impossible choices. “What’s more important, the electricity or food? But to us, they are both important,” she said. “We need the electricity to keep the fridge cool for the food to be stored in.”

A 2025 study by Original Power found more than 65,000 Aboriginal people across the Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland rely on prepaid electricity and experience an average of 49 disconnections a year due to unaffordable bills. Advocates argue disconnections during heatwaves can be life-threatening, particularly where housing is overcrowded, poorly insulated and dependent on small air conditioners that are costly to run.

Energy justice advocates say policy settings must shift to protect families during dangerous heat. “Prepayment customers already experience precarious energy access, so it’s critical that governments and electricity retailers offer protection from disconnection on dangerously hot days,” Original Power’s policy director, Lauren Mellor, said.

Governments and retailers point to concessions and information campaigns, but community advocates say incremental measures are not keeping pace with climate-driven heat extremes. The growing concern is not only the financial burden, but the health impacts of homes that cannot stay at safe temperatures and the cascading effects of food spoilage and stress when a household is repeatedly cut off.