Cash payments of up to $400 to outback townspeople affected by power outages is a first step, not an attempt to patch over their huge losses, the NSW premier says.
The snap package was announced on Thursday, a week after severe thunderstorms wiped out critical power lines and faulty generators left 20,000 people in the Broken Hill area with minimal electricity.
Residential electricity account holders can by week's end access payments of $200 via Service NSW, while small and medium businesses can get $400.
Supplies of pantry staples, fresh produce, food hampers and mobile cold rooms will also be boosted by the state government in partnership with Foodbank NSW.
Locals welcomed the support but were under no illusion it would put a dent into losses already incurred.
Workers are repairing the electricity network after storms wiped out power lines. (Supplied by Transgrid/AAP PHOTOS)
Broken Hill cafe owner Abigail Hughes estimates losses exceeding $25,000 including stock, three days' trade and continued power supply interruptions - not to mention lost wages for her 11 staff.
"I'll probably use it to take some of the staff out to dinner," the owner of Giovanni and Co told AAP.
"That ($400) is our milk usage for a day."
When the power went out again on Monday, her husband and father gave up on the grid and made an 11-hour round trip to Adelaide to buy $10,000 worth of generators.
But the units don't cover everything, meaning the cafe - pumping out upwards of 600 coffees a day - is using a back-up coffee machine whenever town power cuts out.
The menu is bare too - simple ham and cheese sandwiches made a triumphant return on Thursday.
A hundred kilometres east, the Menindee supermarket's generator is burning through $620 of diesel a day to keep fridges on and food fresh, community leader Michelle Kelly said.
Power surges during brownouts had also busted a commercial fridge.
But Ms Kelly was most miffed about the phone network going down every time a blackout extended into a fifth hour.
"You can't even call triple zero," the Menindee Aboriginal Land Council director told AAP.
"We had nurses sleeping on the floor of the health centre because that was the only way people could contact them."
The local preschool had also shut its doors Tuesday and only allowed older children on Wednesday over the communication concerns.
Telstra has since set up a generator while the town's power supply is expected to be supported by its own generator soon.
🚧11.15 am 24 Oct Broken Hill update: Emergency steel towers are being assembled and structure foundations are being laid. Our team is commissioning four additional generators to help support the community during peak times. 👉For more information, visit: — Transgrid (@Transgrid_AU) https://t.co/SahoDGr6yo pic.twitter.com/TyYsRUG2Q7October 24, 2024
"We're resilient people ... Â it's frustrating and annoying but it's not at a crisis point," Ms Kelly said.
Premier Chris Minns acknowledged the $4 million support package would not make everyone whole again.
"But it's the first step in us working with the local community to get businesses up on their feet and get the community going again," he told reporters in Broken Hill.
He flagged investigations were underway into network operator Transgrid's failures to maintain power supply.
Fines of up to $250,000 or reviews of its 50-year licence to operate the state's transmission lines could apply, he said.
Residents have been enduring repeated brownouts, particularly throughout the evening peak when electricity supplied by multiple generators is unable to meet demand.
Supply is expected to improve on Thursday and Friday.
But the town won't be re-connected to the national grid until November 6.
Transgrid, facing the bulk of the community and government wrath, has contributed $1.5 million to the assistance package.
It disputed government assertions one major generator had been out of action since November, saying it operated into September when refurbishment works began.