And a disconnect remains between the rising cost of essentials, such as electricity, rent and transport, and Newstart, the age pension and similar government financial assistance, according to the Vinnies Bathurst Central Council acting executive officer Lukas Rajnoch. 

Mr Rajnoch said $10,950 in Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) vouchers had been handed out by Vinnies in the Evans Region, which includes Bathurst and surrounding areas, since the start of July.

That compares with $50,000 handed out in the Evans Region for the whole of the 2016/17 financial year. 

Mr Rajnoch said the steep rise in electricity prices was adding an average $300 to $400 to household budgets per year, leading to some tough decisions.

“People's incomes are not going up nearly as much as essentials are going up,” he said.

“We come across families that have to make a choice - do I keep the house warm in winter or do I put a solid meal on the table for the kids?”

Mr Rajnoch said Vinnies had found the Bathurst and Orange region had one of the highest rates of electricity disconnection in the state.

He said the EAPA system – administered and run by the NSW Government, which selects agencies to hand out the vouchers – was designed to help people avoid disconnection during a financial crisis.

He said from $50 up to $1000 can be given out in vouchers if necessary, though some people do approach Vinnies who are further in debt than that amount.

Mr Rajnoch said the rise in EAPA assistance handed out in the Bathurst region might also partly reflect the ease of the scheme’s operation.

“It might also speak to the fact the system is easier to access, receiving payment is quicker and people are coming to us because of the visibility of the scheme,” he said.

“That's a good thing.”

Under the EAPA scheme, the vouchers issued to the power customer are sent to the retailer electronically and paid to the customer's account.

The statistics in Vinnies’ Evans Region are reflected on a wider scale.

Vinnies said it distributed approximately $360,000 worth of EAPA vouchers across the state in the first quarter of the financial year last year and gave out $400,000 worth of vouchers in the first three weeks of this financial year.

Mr Rajnoch said there remained a disconnect between the rising cost of essentials such as rent, housing, transport and power and the assistance given through Newstart, the age pension and similar government assistance and “we need to look at it”.

Vinnies CEO Jack de Groot is also calling on the NSW Government to change legislation so that at least 15 per cent of new residential developments is set aside for affordable housing.