A Derry fuel poverty campaigner said it is "more important than ever" that people come out and take a stand against the cost of rising energy bills this year.
Sinead Quinn, who set up the Derry Against Fuel Poverty page, said people are "sick and tired" of feeling ignored.
It comes as households and businesses across the city face gas hikes of 30% in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Firmus announced a price hike of a third in the Ten Towns area in April - which followed a 38% increase in December and 35% rise in July for the same customers.
Ms Quinn said "enough was enough" and called for people to support a protest against rising fuel costs this Saturday at Guildhall Square.
Speaking to MyDerry , the fuel poverty campaigner said the people of Derry had already suffered a near 200% hike in energy prices within the last 12 months.
Ms Quinn added: "People have been sitting in their homes for the last two years and they've not been able to express their feelings or let me know how they are getting on financially and the reality is that a lot of people in this city are struggling beyond belief.
"I started the Facebook page and organise the protest with others because people need hope and there isn't any at the moment.
"They've continued to raise their prices slowly and sometimes people don't notice a big hike because they'll take the attitude that they'll just have to use less and less. People are at the stage now where they can't afford to use less because they are freezing within their own homes.
"When we looked at the statistics for one particular company we calculated that there will be a 194% increase between last winter and winter just past. That is beyond anything I have ever noticed in the past.
"It means on average people in this town are going to have to find an extra £800 to heat their home this year. That's disgraceful.
"There's a huge pride within Derry because not a lot of people like to make it know that they're struggling but people are well past the brink.
"It's getting to the stage where large parts of the community in Derry are going to have to turn to foodbanks because their energy bills are just so high.
"Nobody in Derry gets a £1,000 raise every year and people certainly don't have big savings accounts. People are having to take out loans just to make ends meet in a normal year and now this is just something else people are having to contend with.
"This is only gas we are talking about here. People have rent, electricity bills, food bills, the list goes on and on."
Earlier this week, the director of Infrastructure and Sustainability at the Consumer Council, Peter McClenaghan said the huge hike in prices was due to the "exceptionally high global wholesale gas prices.”
Ms Quinn, however, said it was up to the UK government and Stormont ministers to come up with "adequate solutions" for the people.
"The Department for Communities have a responsibility here to combat poverty in general and people in Derry, and right across Northern Ireland, are actually in a cost of living crisis.
"This is going to continue well into 2023 and it's deeper than it's been in the last three decades.
"We're demanding that the Department actually do something about this. It's up to them what solutions they bring forward. That's their job and the people deserve to have an adequate scheme.
"The schemes that have been brought out so far are not enough and they certainly don't go far enough for everyone.
"It won't be too long before they're knocking on people's doors now looking for a vote in the upcoming election and people have had enough of them just getting a vote and then disappearing to their house on the hill.
"People can't squeeze themselves anymore. That's the message that I'm constantly hearing from the public. People are in despair and they really don't deserve this.
"That's why it's more important than ever that people do decide to take some of their time out on Saturday to come out and make their demands clear."
The protest takes place this Saturday (February 12th) at 1pm at the Guildhall.
