North Shore floods power restoration

This information is for North Shore Port Macquarie residents only

Many customers on the North Shore of Port Macquarie do not have power due to the floods. As the floods recede, it may be possible for power to be restored for some customers.

If your premises have been inundated by water, your electrical installation supply will need to be inspected and tested by a qualified electrician, and then a Level 2 Accredited Service Provider (ASP) will need to reconnect supply. The electrician may also be an ASP.

With the ferry services to the North Shore not operating, it is not possible for Electricians and ASPs to visit the North Shore. To support customers, Essential Energy is working with local Electricians and ASPs and the NSW Police. A NSW Police boat will ferry the Electricians and ASPs to the North Shore so they can provide inspection and reconnection services. 

If your premises are no longer inundated and you wish to restore your power supply, you can contact the Electrician and/or ASPs listed below to arrange for your electrical installation supply to be tested and possibly reconnected.

This work is planned to start on Wednesday 24 March 2021.

You will need to pay the Electrician and/or ASP yourself. However, Essential Energy will reimburse your ASP connection costs up to $350. Please note this reimbursement only applies to costs relating to reconnecting your supply and does not cover any costs for testing and repairing your electricity installation in your premises. To receive your reimbursement, please provide a copy of your itemised receipt to Essential Energy by calling 132080. Your ASP will need to provide to Essential Energy a Certificate of Compliance Electrical Work (CCEW). ASPs know how to complete and submit this form.

For further information, please call our 24/7 Customer Contact Centre on 132080.

Electrician and ASPs available to be ferried to the North Shore

Greg Keft Electrical

• Contact: Greg Keft, 0408 692 292, [email protected]
• Qualified Electrician, not an ASP

Network Infrastructure Services

• Contact: David Relf, 0417 664 400, [email protected]
• ASP

Stowe Australia

• Contact: Kyll Goodsell, 0411 515 595 or 02 6581 5001
• ASP

Alternatively you may wish to arrange this through your own Electrician and/or Level 2 ASP, along with their access to the North Shore. A list of all Level 2 ASPs is available from NSW Government Energy Saver website.

Electrical Safety after floods

• Do not plug in or use any appliances that have been in the flood water until they have been checked by a qualified electrician.
• If parts of the electricity network or fallen powerlines are covered in flood waters stay at least 150 metres away because water conducts electricity.
• In all other cases, always stay at least eight metres away from the electricity network, including poles, substations, fallen powerlines and any objects in contact with them. Electricity can arc to surrounding objects, which means that you can be seriously injured by electricity without actually touching the powerline.
• If you receive a shock or tingling sensation from any electrical appliances, plumbing, metal, sink or bath, avoid all contact with the appliance or objects in question and call our 24-hour power outage line on 132080 to report the problem as soon as you can.
• For more information, read our Flood Safety fact sheet.

Further support

In addition to these services for North Shore customers, Essential Energy is providing further support to all flood-affected customers, including:

• Waiving our reconnection fees for customers who have had to be disconnected from the network for safety reasons.
• Reimbursing customers up to $350 when they pay for an ASP to reconnect their premises once safety testing has occurred.
• For customers whose house has been lost, contributing $600 toward supporting customers in the cost to re-connect to our network for flood impacted customers within our network for a period of 2 years.
  

Read more

Latest updates for flood power outages

Other community support

Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment
NSW Government Disaster Customer Care Services
Port Macquarie Hastings Council Disaster Dashboard – Council and NSW Government recovery support
Port Macquarie Hastings Council Community Flood Updates