With winter upon us a local budget advisory service says people need to be more aware of their power usage.
Rotorua Budget Advisory Service adviser Pearl Pavitt said she saw lots of people struggling with their bills, and power could become more of a problem in winter as people used more.
She said a lot of people had problems because they did not understand the connection between their usage and the kilowatt rating of the appliance being used, ie. a 2 kilowatt heater used two units of power per hour.
"People have to be aware. A lot of it is understanding what your power bill consists of, how it is made and then making the choice of which power company is best for you."
She said if people did not understand this type of thing, they should go see a budget adviser and take their power bill with them.