People in far-west NSW are being told to expect to lose power with little warning for another fortnight, as the fallout from a storm that destroyed transmission infrastructure continues.

The affected area spans more than 400 kilometres from Menindee, south of Broken Hill, to Tibooburra near the Queensland border.

Just one of two large-scale backup generators has been operational, but the sole redundancy tripped on Monday, leaving locals without power.

While the generator was restored on Wednesday morning, rolling outages have continued during periods of peak demand at night as the limited energy is shared across town.

The state government said more than 12,000 properties were without power over the past week, including many "for prolonged periods".

NSW Premier Chris Minns on Thursday announced government support for residents and businesses affected by power outages. 

Each residential electricity account holder who lost power will be paid $200, and small-to-medium businesses will be eligible for $400 grants.

Pantry staples, fresh produce, food hampers and mobile cold rooms are being distributed across the region.

The $4 million support package includes a $1.5 million contribution from Transgrid.

Mr Minns arrived in Broken Hill a week after a severe storm tore down transmission lines connecting the outback city to the energy grid.

He also declared an Electricity Supply Emergency, which will remain in place until November 10.

'It's a situation we shouldn't have been put in'

Multiple businesses have told the ABC they have lost thousands of dollars since the power crisis began last Thursday, October 17.

Broken Hill cafe owner John Perry has been unable to open the doors and estimates he has thrown out at least $20,000 worth of food.

"For me trying to run a business, do we run out and stock up or we just play it hour-by-hour because we don't know when the power's going to go out again?".

Mr Minns acknowledged the grants would not make up for the losses some businesses have suffered, hinting that more funding could be announced.

"I realise that's not going to make everybody whole … but it's the first step in us working with the local community," he said.

"We're not requiring receipts. We're not requiring any evidence of hardship."

Asked whether there was potential for more rounds of funding, the premier replied: "Of course there is."

'There should have been more done'

The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal has begun investigating whether Transgrid breached it licensing conditions, including reliability standards.

In parliament on Wednesday, Mr Minns pointed the finger at the major electricity company.

"The bottom line here is the gas generator, the redundancy power was not maintained by Transgrid and has been out of action since November last year," Mr Minns said.

But Transgrid has hit back, saying the generator was operational before being taken offline last month for refurbishment.

"Claims that it has been out of service since November 2023 are not correct," it said.

"I know there's been some dispute about whether the gas generators were ready or knocked out of action late last year or six months ago or three weeks ago or two weeks ago," Mr Minns later said.

"The bottom line here is that there should have been no interruption in supply after we had that weather event late last week."

The premier admitted fines for breaching reliability conditions may not cause a dent for a big company but warned operating license could be revoked.

Under the Electricity Supply Act, a licensee who knowingly breaches a regulatory condition can be fined up to $250,000.

"Maybe that's chicken feed for a major corporation like Transgrid, however repeated breaches put the license in jeopardy," he said.

"It's not just about the fines, you need a license to provide mains power in NSW."

The outages have generated a political storm over the former Coalition government's privatisation of Transgrid in 2015.

Nationals leader Dugald Saunders said that was "the government trying to obfuscate responsibility".

"This has got nothing to do with privatisation of any assets. What this has got to do with is a response and a lack of urgency," Mr Saunders said.

"Given that people were aware that there was only one generator that was working in Broken Hill, there should have been more done on that front."

Disruptions could last until early November 

The reason for outages could be as simple as it being a cloudy day, limiting household solar input to the network throughout the day and putting pressure on the generator.

Essential Energy said that was partly why load shedding occurred from 4pm yesterday, which left properties across Broken Hill, Wilcannia, White Cliffs, Menindee and Tibooburra without power throughout the evening.

The company is responsible for distributing electricity to customers in the region.

Operations manager Mark Summers told the ABC disruptions would continue until at least November 6 when Transgrid's temporary transmission infrastructure is forecast to be connected to the grid.

"The actual generator doesn't have enough capacity to actually handle that peak load," Mr Summers said.

Another four generators are being connected to the grid today which will cause yet another outage.

"A lot of what we're setting up is a bit of piecing together different components to produce a large enough generator to support that load and that network," he said.

Locals asked to do housework during daytime 

Residents have been asked to reduce energy use between 5.30pm and 10.30pm local time.

They have been asked to limit pressure on the grid by preparing their dinners or washing clothes and dishes during the day.

Mr Summers said it was difficult to warn people in advance that their power will go out.

"Yesterday we could see the swings on the network and the increases were very quick," he said.

"We don't have that time to go, 'hey customers you are now a part of load shedding'."

The uncertain supply is expected to continue until temporary transmission towers are erected. These are expected to be ready by November 6.