MP for Te Tai Tokerau Hone Harawira is calling for an independent inquiry into power price rises in the Far North.
A Ministry of Economic Development survey shows many Northland people are paying 25% more for their power this winter than they did last year.
The steepest rises have been in the Far North, where households were already paying some of the highest electricity prices in New Zealand.
Mr Harawira says he knows of elderly people who have switched off their hot water cylinders because they can not pay their power bills.
And he says many Far North families are trying to do without electricity, using gas for cooking and candles for light.
