Ausgrid outage map today

Ausgrid, the network that keeps Sydney's lights on

Ausgrid is the electricity distribution network for Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter region. It delivers power to around 1.8 million customers across 22,275 square kilometres, making it the largest network by customer count on the Australian east coast. The Ausgrid outage map is the tool most customers check first when the power goes out in Sydney's inner suburbs, the eastern beaches, the Central Coast, Newcastle or the Hunter Valley.

• The size of the Ausgrid network and the regions it covers
• Why East Coast Lows and ageing infrastructure drive most outages
• The investments and technologies Ausgrid uses to restore power faster
• The customer-facing outage map, alerts and concessions

From Sydney Harbour to the Hunter Valley, a 1.8 million customer footprint

Ausgrid was privatised in 2016 through a 99-year lease. It is now owned by a consortium led by AustralianSuper and IFM Investors, with the NSW Government retaining a residual stake. It operates under the AER's regulatory framework like all NEM distributors.

Key figures for the Ausgrid electric network:

• Around 1.8 million customer connections.
• About 4 million people served, around half of NSW's population.
• 22,275 square kilometres of service area covering metropolitan Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter region.
• Around 50,000 kilometres of powerlines, roughly half overhead and half underground.

The network covers the eastern suburbs, the inner west, the lower north shore, the northern beaches, the Hills, the Sutherland Shire, the Central Coast, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie and the Hunter Valley.

Why East Coast Lows and ageing assets dominate Ausgrid outages

Outages on the Ausgrid network are driven by a mix of severe weather, ageing infrastructure and the density of an urban grid built mostly between the 1950s and 1980s.

East Coast Lows and severe storms

The biggest single cause of large-scale outages. East Coast Lows bring intense rain, damaging winds and high tides to the Sydney basin and the Hunter, often striking in autumn and winter. The April 2015 East Coast Low caused widespread blackouts on the Central Coast and in the Hunter, and the June 2016 Sydney storm left more than 200,000 customers without power.

Summer thunderstorms

Sydney and the Hunter receive intense summer thunderstorms with lightning, hail and microbursts. A single supercell can damage substations and bring down lines across several suburbs in minutes.

Ageing assets

Large parts of the Ausgrid network were built in the post-war decades and are reaching the end of their service life. Underground cables in the inner city, overhead wiring on legacy poles in older suburbs, and substation equipment dating back 40 to 60 years are all in the replacement cycle, contributing to local unplanned outages.

Bushfires

The Hunter, the Central Coast and the bushland fringe around Sydney are exposed to bushfire risk between October and March. Ausgrid runs a Bushfire Hazard Reduction Plan with seasonal inspections and de-energising in catastrophic conditions.

Wildlife and accidents

Cars hitting poles, flying foxes contacting overhead wires, and excavators damaging underground cables account for hundreds of small outages per year, particularly in the dense urban grid.

A $13 billion plan to rebuild Sydney's distribution network

Ausgrid submitted a record-large 2024 to 2029 regulatory proposal to the AER, reflecting both the cost of replacing ageing assets and the cost of preparing the grid for electrification.

Asset replacement programme

Replacement of post-war overhead wiring, underground cables, switchgear and substations is the single largest line item in the Ausgrid capital plan. Many inner-Sydney assets are now 50 to 70 years old.

EV and electrification readiness

Ausgrid is upgrading transformers in suburbs with high EV penetration to handle additional evening loads. The network is also rolling out flexible connection agreements that let customers connect rooftop solar and home batteries at higher capacity than the standard limits.

Selective undergrounding

Ausgrid is undergrounding selected overhead sections in storm-prone parts of the Central Coast and the Hunter, particularly along main feeders that have repeatedly failed during East Coast Low events.

Smart meters, microgrids and Sydney's emerging community batteries

Smart meters

Ausgrid is rolling out smart meters in line with the national 2030 target. The new meters allow Ausgrid to detect outages at the property level and confirm restoration without depending on customer phone calls.

Self-healing network

Automated reclosers, sectionalisers and FLISR systems are deployed across the high-load urban network. These devices reroute power around faults within seconds, often before customers notice the interruption.

Community batteries

Ausgrid was one of the first Australian networks to deploy neighbourhood-scale community batteries, storing surplus rooftop solar during the day and releasing it during the evening peak. Around 20 community batteries are operating or planned across Sydney suburbs as of 2025.

Network monitoring

Ausgrid operates 24/7 control centres in Sydney that monitor every zone substation on the network. SCADA data and customer reports feed into the outage management system that dispatches crews and updates the public outage map.

Outage map, alerts and NSW concessions

Ausgrid outage map

Ausgrid publishes a public outage map updated in near real time. Customers can check outage status by address or suburb and see estimated restoration times. The map is the primary tool used during storm events.

Outage alerts and app

Customers can register for SMS and email alerts when an outage is reported at their address. The Ausgrid app gives mobile access to the outage map and proactive notifications during interruptions.

Life support customers

Households relying on life-support equipment can register through their retailer to receive priority notifications of planned outages and prioritised restoration during unplanned events.

NSW Low Income Household Rebate

Eligible NSW residents can apply for the Low Income Household Rebate, the Family Energy Rebate or the NSW Energy Accounts Payment Assistance (EAPA) scheme. These are administered by Service NSW and applied to bills issued by the customer's retailer.

Ausgrid, Endeavour, Essential, the three NSW distributors

For a wider view of how Australia's three power grids are structured, see the Australian power outage page. Ausgrid covers Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter, but western and south-western Sydney is served by Endeavour Energy and rural NSW by Essential Energy. When the power is restored but the internet is still down in Sydney, the largest fixed-line provider is the NBN, and most customers buy retail broadband from Telstra, Optus or TPG.