Reminds me of a scene from BECKET in which King Henry has been drenched in a rain storm, goes to a hovel and demands fire and warmth.
Becket: You will find no fire here sire. Each hovel is allowed two measures of wood a year. One stick more and they are hanged.
Henry: MY edict?
Becket: Your edict sire.
****
And then there is this when the people start looting due to cold...
“I told myself it was beneath my dignity to arrest a man for pilfering firewood. But nothing ordered by the Party is beneath the dignity of any man. And the Party was right: one man desperate for a bit of fuel is pathetic; five million people desperate for fuel will destroy a city. “ —from Dr Zhivago
...ninety-five million people desperate for fuel will destroy a city.
--from NYT