A grandmother was that afraid to turn on her gas over energy hikes that she sat in her Derry home with four cardigans on.
The pensioner, who is unnamed but from the Galliagh area of the city, did so because she was terrified she wouldn't be able to afford her gas bill.
That's according to one Aontú councillor who sits on Derry City and Strabane District Council.
Read more: Derry busker who stunned locals with his awesome, unusual Handpan instrument
Councillor Emmet Doyle said he became aware of the elderly grandmothers' situation after her daughter rang him "in a bit of a state".
"This started around five weeks ago," Cllr Doyle told MyDerry. "I got a call from a constituent of mine in Galliagh and she was in a bit of a state on the phone talking about her mother.
"I thought something was wrong with [her mother], maybe she wasn't well and so I went down to the house.
"It turns out her mother wouldn't turn the heat on in the house. She has gas and she was really afraid of what her bill would end up as and how many units she would use.
"She refused to turn the heating on and her daughter was very worried about her. She was sitting in the house with four cardigans on.
"In 2022, in this city, that is not acceptable and we need governments to step up."
It's one of a number of heartbreaking stories across Northern Ireland as residents struggle to cope with rising living costs.
It follows Sinn Fein's Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey's announcement on Wednesday that payments from the £55million Energy Payment Support Scheme will now be paid a day later than planned due to "a technical glitch".
The one-off payment of £200 was due to be issued on Thursday, March 10, but will now be paid on Friday, March 11.
The situation has left Emmet Doyle "extremely frustrated", so much so that the elected representative bought over three-tonne of firewood for the people of Derry last week.
He is now offering them free of charge to those most in need.
Cllr Doyle said those who want to avail of the firewood can from a number of distribution centres across the city.
He told MyDerry that people did not need to contact him and tell him their personal financial situation - for them to just "take what they need" with "no questions asked".
He added: "These are being stored at the Pennyburn Industrial Estate at New2Youand people can come down here and just lift them.
"There will be no questions asked. We don't want to know whether you're working or whether you're on benefits, we don't want to know.
"You'll know your own self if you are in need of these, come and get them. It's not a government scheme so no one will be asking for personal information.
"This is the worst I've ever seen. People are not just getting battered by their own housing costs but now the costs of food, oil and gas have gone up. People are genuinely not only choosing whether to heat or eat but they're choosing whether they can do one of those things now.
"There needs to be a larger response because I don't think it's going to go away anytime soon."
You can contact Cllr Doyle on Facebook HERE if you have any questions.
Read more: Derry woman with diabetes reaches peak of Mount Kilimanjaro
Read more: NI college set up scholarship in memory of former teacher
For more Derry news, visit our new site MyDerry
