As reported earlier today, several communities across the Northern Rivers and North Coast have been heavily affected by a severe storm cell that moved across the region this morning (23 January), with around 27,600 customers losing power at its peak.

The hardest hit communities are Nimbin and Murwillumbah with additional damage in the rural areas around the Northern Rivers and coastal region of the North Coast.

Essential Energy crews are currently assessing the high volume of calls and the extent of damage in order to prioritise the restoration efforts.

An Essential Energy spokesperson said, "Crews will need to spent time cleaning up the areas around the powerlines to make the locations safe before the power can be turned back on. As a result of the storm, access to some locations is difficult or not possible at this stage. 

"Additional crews are being brought into the region to support.

"It is expected that full restoration may take several days to complete due to the number of faults across the network.

"Since the storm hit around 8.30am, crews have completed over 11,000 restorations

"As at 1.30pm, there are over 21,000 customers without power.

"Our website outages page is being updated with estimated restoration times as they become known."