NSW storm power outages: about 810 customers still without power
About 810 Essential Energy customers remained without power at 4 pm AEDT on Thursday, 12 November, after storms affected the Mid North Coast and Northern Rivers in New South Wales. The distributor reported about 3,855 customers without power at 6:30 am and more than 9,000 affected at the Wednesday evening peak.
Status of this incident
Partial / reduced supply
Last known status: partly restored · Essential Energy reported about 810 customers still without power at 4 pm AEDT on 12 November and expected some outages to continue overnight.
Source moment: Nov 12, 2026, 05:00 AM UTC (04:00 PM local time)
In 20 seconds
Essential Energy reported around 700 customers still without power in Port Macquarie Hastings and around 110 in the Northern Rivers at 4 pm AEDT.
The Port Macquarie Hastings figure included Wauchope and surrounds. The Northern Rivers figure included Ballina and surrounds.
Essential Energy expected some outages to last overnight and reported further failures of equipment damaged by the storms.
Where outages remained on Thursday
Port Macquarie Hastings accounted for about 700 of the customers still without power in the 4 pm update. That included Wauchope and surrounding areas. The distributor put the Northern Rivers count at about 110, including Ballina and nearby areas.
These are customer counts from Essential Energy’s storm update. The afternoon figures describe the areas where that distributor reported customers still waiting for power. They do not give an address by address picture or cover all power outages in New South Wales.
What the sources tell us, and what they do not
- Customers still without power at 4 pm AEDT
- About 810 Essential Energy customers on 12 November.
- Areas in the afternoon update
- About 700 in Port Macquarie Hastings and about 110 in the Northern Rivers.
What Essential Energy said about restoration
The number of customers still without power fell between the morning and afternoon updates. Essential Energy also reported that some equipment damaged by the storms failed later. The distributor expected some interruptions to continue overnight.
The overnight outlook is a forecast for some outages. Essential Energy did not give one reconnection time for all addresses in the update. A falling count across both regions cannot tell you when a particular property will regain power.
How to check for a local update
Check Essential Energy’s outage map for information about your address and look for a newer update before relying on the afternoon count. For help during a longer interruption, see the power outage essentials guide and use the runtime calculator to estimate how long a backup battery can run a light or other device.