Source: Shepparton News [Darren Linton]

Barry Fleming has spent this week avoiding the heat like just about everyone else, but the him it is an absolute necessity.

Mr Fleming has multiple sclerosis and will suffer a severe attack of his core body temperature gets too high.

Dizziness, slurred speech, blurred vision and muscles so weak he can't walk are some of the consequences of succumbing to the heat.

Like all M.S. sufferers on low incomes, Mr Fleming receives a small Victorian Government subsidy on his electricity, which amounts to a 17.5% discount on bills for December, January and February.

But the subsidy does not help when, as is currently the case, a heatwave hits in March.

"It's no good, I just can't go out in this heat, it just drains all my energy and I have a three-year-old child to look after," Mr Fleming said.

"The hotter weather is getting later and later."

Mr Fleming's wife works part-time in order to help her husband cope when the two school-age children arrive home, so their income is limited on two fronts.

"I'd like to get the subsidy to the end of March if we could," Mr Fleming said.

The MS Society of Victoria estimates it would cost the State government about $130,000 to extend the subsidy to four months a year and lift the rate to 25%.

"The hot days we have experienced already this month have been unbearable for many people living with their nets," spokesman Dr Michael Summers said. 

"It proves that this concession must be increased to be available in March." 

State member for Northern Victoria, Wendy Lovell, raised the issue in Parliament after a complaint from an MS sufferer. 

"The Victorian government's current M.S. summit concession does not take into account the fact that hot weather persists outside the summer months, with temperatures known to reach as high as 40°C in October, November and March," Ms Lovell said. 

A rising core body temperature of as little as a quarter of 1°C can significantly increase the severity of M.S. symptoms, causing sufferers pain and fatigue.

"Last year I had five attacks in relation to the heat with MS and some of those were in winter when we had warmer weather," Mr Fleming said.