The price of electricity has risen so high that people in parts of the NT can be left without power for more than eight hours.
The average price of electricity in the NT has risen twice as fast as the Australian average, according to the latest cost of living report by the territory's peak welfare group.
As a result, both the number of disconnections and their duration have increased.
"That is an unacceptable situation in Australia," NT Council of Social Services (NTCOSS) chief executive Deborah Di Natale said.
Many households in the Northern Territory, particularly those in remote areas, rely on prepaid electricity to store food and medication.
From 2020 to 2021 the number of people with prepaid metres being disconnected rose 11 per cent, and the average duration of each disconnection across the NT increased by 33 per cent to nearly eight-and-a-half hours, according to the report.
Using data from the Bureau of Statistics, the report shows that from 2012 to 2022, the average price of electricity rose by 12 per cent across Australia. But in the Northern Territory, it rose more than 25 per cent.
NTCOSS said the NT government needed to do more to ensure that houses were more energy-efficient.
Last year, researchers from the Australian National University found that housing in remote areas in the NT is poorly built and lacks insulation.
"When you've got an environment like the NT, where you have to use more electricity in terms of keeping the house cool - or warm if you're in Alice Springs - you do need to make sure that essential service is available," Ms Di Natale said.
