Essential Energy crews have brought the number down to 5,200 homes and businesses without power in the Northern NSW as they work through a large volume of faults and complicated repairs.

There are still locations that crews are unable to access due to flood waters or road closures. Estimated times of restoration are being updated (when known) on the website outages page.

Areas like Eureka (212 properties), Federal (36) and Nashua (4) are still without power.

To assist customer recovery from the impacts of ex-cyclone Alfred and the extended periods of time without power, Essential Energy is offering the following: 

• Pausing estimated meter reading for uninhabitable houses and buildings 
• Reimbursement of up to $350 for the costs charged by an Accredited Service Provider (ASP) to a customer to disconnect and reconnect a property due to flood damage (note this excludes reimbursement for the cost for repairs or inspections) 
• Pausing all Disconnections for Non-Payment (DNPs) in flood affected areas while the Natural Disaster continues 
• Pausing of customer communications for Private Asset defects in flood affected areas 
• Repairing or replacing any private assets which have been damaged or destroyed by flooding on a like-for-like basis at our cost 
• Waiving the Certificate Compliance of Electrical Works (CCEW) cost for ASPs for flood affected post codes 
• Contributing $600 towards supporting customers in the cost to re-connect to our network (e.g. if their house is a total loss) for flood-impacted customers within our network for a period of two years
• Waiving the daily access charge for customers for the period they were off supply. This amount will be reflected via a reduced access charge on customer bills sent by retailers.

The community is reminded to please stay at least 8 metres away from fallen powerlines and 150 metres from lines submerged in water and should report the location to Essential Energy on 13 20 80.

From tomorrow (12 March 2025), updates will be provided twice a day before 11am and before 5pm.