Both the NSW Energy and Water Ombudsman and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre report that working people are increasingly facing disconnection, and it is a trend that would get worse.

The Energy and Water Ombudsman, Clare Petre, said consumer anxiety was high.

''This is a group of people who work but are on low incomes and are so financially stretched that they have no financial flexibility to deal with any increases,'' she said.

Although the profile of people who have utilities disconnected is changing, the rate of gas and electricity disconnection in NSW is decreasing.

Figures from the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) show that in the 2009-10 financial year, 30,646 people in the state had their gas and electricity disconnected, compared with 37,594 in 2007-08. About 8 per cent of residential customers who were disconnected in 2009-10 were disconnected more than once.

But in the past six months, the Ombudsman has seen a 5 per cent increase in the number of people who have called and said they were facing disconnection, compared with the same period last year.

Carolyn Hodge, the senior policy officer at the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said she expected an increase in disconnections in the current financial year because of ''price pressures''.

She said working people were vulnerable to disconnection because they were less likely to qualify for low-income rebates.

The Energy Minister, Chris Hartcher, said that the government provided Energy Accounts Payment Assistance vouchers to people who needed emergency assistance to pay their bills, and he would make sure fewer people were forcibly disconnected from utilities in future.

''We are doing everything we can to reduce the impact of power price rises and prevent massive increases in the future, including reducing instances of disconnected utilities,'' he said.

IPART predicted residential customers would pay between $4 and $6 a week more for electricity from July 1.

Energy companies must contact a customer at least twice before disconnection and propose a suitable payment plan.