WHEN Mary Dal Broi opened her last power bill and saw she owed AGL almost $900, the Griffith pensioner was shocked.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Mrs Dal Broi, like thousands of residents across the city, is being punished with exorbitant electricity fees just for living in regional NSW.
The 88-year-old lives alone in her central Griffith home and is frugal with how she uses her electrical appliances, but has found the bills getting more and more costly each quarter.
While this bill came in at $887, the last one was $805 and the one before that $715.
Mrs Dal Broi cannot fathom why the cost is so high and keeps rising.
"My second and third bedroom I don't use, I don't cook a lot, I don't use many lights, the TV is off during the day I don't even boil the kettle when I'm here on my own," Mrs Dal Broi said.
"In the summer I use my reverse cycle when it's hot and if it's cold in the winter I'll turn it on but at my age, why shouldn't I?"
Pensioners have taken to radical extremes to save money on their power bills, Mrs Dal Broi explained.
Some have taken to boiling the kettle once in the morning, then pouring the hot water into a thermos to use throughout the day.
Mrs Dal Broi is not alone, with some of her neighbours experiencing bills in excess of $900 and even $1000.
"It used to be much cheaper, we never had any trouble with it," she said.
"I'm not a big spender so I can afford it but you do have to spend your money wisely."
Even not-for-profit organisations have been hit hard with the soaring costs, with LifeSource Church Pastor Rodney Bortolin reporting the church's energy bills jumping from $400 to more than $1000 in the last few years.
"We only use one office about three days a week and we use the hall on Sunday," Pastor Bortolin said.
"For us as a church, it takes money out of what we're here for programs and things we can offer people."
In the coming weeks, The Area News in conjunction with One Big Switch will launch an electricity campaign aimed at reaping a mass discount for all residents who sign up.
Last year's state-wide Big Electricity Switch saw more than 100,000 people claiming a 16.5 per cent discount from TRUenergy.
