St Vincent De Paul's Tauranga op shop has a bunch of second-hand safety-tested heaters just waiting to warm up homes across the city this winter.

But support person Carol Devoy-Heena says they can barely give them away.

St Vincent De Paul Tauranga's Carol Devoy-Heena says many Tauranga families don't use heaters because they can't afford the power bills for running them. Photo: Bruce Barnard.

'We got thousands of heaters but nobody wants to use them,” admits Carol.

Why? 'They can't afford to use them.”

Carol says many Tauranga families are struggling to pay their power bills.

'It's just horrific,” she says. 'I've had families who are in Housing New Zealand Corporation houses that have old panel heaters.

'Now the Housing NZ Corporation won't replace those [with an alternative type of heater], they will only give you another one – and I'm talking one panel heater in house and it just chews through so much power.”

Otherwise, Housing NZ Corporation homes are provided with a fire. 'But the means of a solo mother getting firewood and paying for it is extremely difficult.

'So heating houses is a problem.”

Carol says the problem is not only limited to beneficiaries. 'I have a friend and she suffers from bronchiolitis. All she's got in her house is a fireplace, but she can't afford the firewood and she's on a low wage.”

This week the Green Party is calling on government to make non-recoverable grants to families struggling with power bills this winter, to help prevent more children becoming sick from cold, damp homes.

This comes after coroner Brandt Shortland ruled a cold, damp Housing New Zealand home may have contributed to the death of Otara toddler Emma-Lita Bourne.

The family had been given a heater, but couldn't afford the electricity to turn it on.

'No New Zealand child should be expected to go through the winter living in a cold, damp home, that their parents can't afford to heat,” says Green Party co-leader Metiria Turei.

'We challenge the government to immediately adopt the Green Party's plan for a warrant of fitness for all rentals, to ensure no child has to live in the same conditions Emma-Lita was forced to.”

The government must also instruct Work and Income NZ to be compassionate and flexible when granting payments to families who need help to pay the power bill this winter, says Meteria.

'Families who can't afford the power to heat their homes should be given grants to pay their power bill that they do not need to repay,” she adds.

Carol agrees with the call. 'People who privately own rentals and the Housing Corporation need to clean up their act as far as getting heating into homes,” she says.

'Most have heaters which hardly heat the home in the first place and it's costing the tenants a fortune to run.”

Carol says the result is families stop using heaters. 'They get freezing cold and turn the oven on and open the door and you can imagine how much that costs.

'It's a hard one – they're pushed. They try to think they will do without a heater but you get a few cold nights and it's simply just too cold.”

Many families approach St Vincent de Paul Tauranga, asking for grants to pay power bills after WINZ has turned them down, or ordered them to pay back a power bill grant.

'They come to us – and we do look at it but more often than not we can't pay it.

'We spent something like $40,000 on paying off power bills alone last year and we simply couldn't sustain it.

'Being a charity organisation, we've just had to say no because the power costs have got so high.”

St Vincent de Paul now encourage clients to join the Glowbug prepay electricity plan, so households pay for electricity as you go. But many still run out.

'It's not ideal – especially with children as they're parents often run out of money.

'I've got one lady who lives in Welcome Bay with her five children. They don't go to school on Mondays because she has no money for them for lunch or buses.

Carol says power prices have been rising for number of years, but beneficiaries and low income earners' pay packets haven't – and things are starting to bite.

'They just can't keep up,” she admits.

There's only one positive way forward, says Carol.

'We need well-paying, sustainable, 12 month-a-year jobs.

'In Tauranga it's shocking because there are so many contract, part-time, temporary jobs – and this affects the low income earners badly.

'It actually costs them to work.”