Waikato Herald
  • Waikato Herald home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Lotto results

Locations

  • Hamilton
  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Matamata & Piako
  • Cambridge
  • Te Awamutu
  • Tokoroa & South Waikato
  • Taupō & Tūrangi

Weather

  • Thames
  • Hamilton
  • Tokoroa
  • Taumarunui
  • Taupō

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Waikato News / Lifestyle

Elderly worst affected by cold winter weather

By Jonathan Chilton-Towle
Hamilton News·
10 Jun, 2012 06:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

With winter and high power bills just around the corner, national organisations fear elderly people will be some of the worst hit.

As the days get cooler and people turn to their heat pumps and heaters to keep warm, advisers are encouraging consumers to shop around different power companies to get the best deals possible.

The elderly are especially likely to be hard hit.

North Otago Grey Power president Rose Gallagher said Grey Power had been concerned by increasing power prices for some time and was worried by the impact on the older generation.

She knew older people who would be leaving their heaters off as much as possible to save money this winter. In some cases, they would be sitting in cold rooms wrapped only in blankets.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It's quite worrying," she said. "In most cases they would be turning off their heaters to save money and economise, but really they are putting their health at risk."

Gallagher said she tried to use her heaters only at night but, when it was a really cold day she was forced to put them on.

She said elderly people deserved to live in warm homes without having to worry about a big power bill.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They are our forefathers and they paved the way for us," she said. "It's not a crime to be old."

North Otago Citizens' Advice Bureau co-ordinator Geoff Campbell said his group received a spike in inquiries in the first weeks of winter.

The pain of increased power prices was felt across all areas of the community, with those on fixed incomes or with limited means the worst affected, he said.

"People will be using their heat pumps and heaters and as a result the power bills are going up," he said. Campbell urged residents to go to the bureaus nationwide for advice rather than sitting in cold homes in an attempt to save power.

"We are very good at referring people on to the appropriate agencies," he said.

People could bring their latest power bill to the bureau office and staff were able to do a "what's my number?" check to see if they could save money by switching to a different provider.

The bureaus could also refer people to agencies that could help them get a subsidy on installing better insulation in their home.

Staff were also able to give general advice.

"We can always give advice on how to conserve energy around the home," Campbell said.

Gallagher said Grey Power was worried the Government's proposed plan to sell assets, including power generators, would only raise prices higher. The group has started a petition to get the Government to hold a referendum before any assets are sold.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Lifestyle

Watch: The latest highlights from Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

Waikato Herald

NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her

Lifestyle

Watch: Smokefreerockquest and Showquest's finals around the motu


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Watch: The latest highlights from Smokefreerockquest and Showquest
Lifestyle

Watch: The latest highlights from Smokefreerockquest and Showquest

Regional finals from Auckland, Canterbury, Far North, Northland, Nelson and Wairarapa.

14 Jul 10:25 PM
NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her
Waikato Herald

NZ actress accuses Australian policeman of using CCTV to spy on her

06 Jul 12:48 AM
Watch: Smokefreerockquest and Showquest's finals around the motu
Lifestyle

Watch: Smokefreerockquest and Showquest's finals around the motu

03 Jul 06:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Waikato Herald e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Waikato Herald
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP