Prepaid electricity leaving vulnerable people powerless

It's sweltering hot, pushing 40C, and without warning the power goes out.

This is a regular occurrence for many of Australia's most remote residents across the Northern Territory, Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland, who have to prepay their electricity bill.

Warlpiri and Arrernte woman Vanessa Napaljarri Davis, who lives in a town camp outside Alice Springs, is one of the 65,000 people across the country who access power through prepaid metering.

She said she usually spends about $70 a week to keep the power on.

She counts herself lucky, as many others find themselves in positions where they can't afford to top up their meter, sometimes leaving them without power for days.

"They got food spoilage, they've got frozen stuff in the freezer that they have to eat before it g