Prolonged Power Outage Payment

Apply for the Prolonged Power Outage Payment

The Victorian and Australian Governments are providing financial relief to households and businesses that have been without power for seven cumulative days following the heatwave, bushfire and wind events that occurred in Victoria from 7-10 January 2026.

We are supporting the delivery of this relief payment to eligible customers in our electricity distribution network.

Subject to specific eligibility criteria, residential customers without power for seven days after 7 January 2026 will be eligible for $2,380 per week for up to three weeks, while businesses will be eligible for $3,088 per week for up to three weeks. 

We will distribute the payment to eligible customers on the government's behalf.

Payments are for each cumulative 7-day period per electricity account holder, up to a maximum of 3 payments.

The overall time without power does not need to be a continuous 7-day period, as long as the days without power add up to 7 days.

This means for eligible customers, if you are without power for:

• seven cumulative days – you get $2380 (for residential) or $3,088 (for business) in total 
• 14 cumulative days – you get $4760 (for residential) or $6,176 (for business) in total
• 21 cumulative days – you get $7140 (for residential) or $9,264 (for business) in total.

Eligibility 

Residential

To be eligible for the Prolonged Power Outage Payment, residential customers must:   

• have a residential electricity account with a national meter identification number (NMI) within the AusNet electricity distribution network  
• be electricity account holder of a property that:
  • lost power due to the severe weather events in Victoria between 7 January and 10 January 2026 and
  • was without power for 7 cumulative days  
• not have already received a Prolonged Power Outage Payment for the same electricity account
• have applied via AusNet’s online form, no later than 11.59 pm (AEDT) on 31 March 2026.  

Business

To be eligible for a Prolonged Power Outage Payment, a business must:

• have a business electricity account that is registered against a national meter identification number (NMI) in the AusNet electricity distribution network
• have the Electricity Account Holder in the name of the business’ legal name or trading name
• be operating from a location that:
  • lost power due to the severe weather events occurring in Victoria between 7 January and 10 January 2026 and;
  • was without power for 7 days cumulatively as a result.
• have an annual Victorian payroll of $10 million or less in 2024-25 on an ungrouped basis*
• hold an Australian Business Number (ABN) and have held that ABN at 12.01am Wednesday, 7 January 2026
• be registered with the responsible Federal or State regulator
• have not applied for or received, a Prolonged Power Outage Payment for an electricity account
• have applied via AusNet’s online form, no later than 11.59 pm (AEDT) on 31 March 2026
• be an employing or non-employing business.

*Where a business is in a payroll group, the payroll eligibility criteria applies to each business in the payroll group. That is, any member of a group with an annual Victorian taxable payroll of up to $10 million in 2024-25 can apply.

Apply online now

To apply for the payment, please complete the form here.

What you need to apply

Residential customers

To complete this application, you will need to provide:

1. the full name of the electricity account holder – this will be the person applying for the payment
2. National Metering Identifier (NMI) – this is the 10 or 11-digit number that you can find on your power bill. The NMI must match the electricity account for a property that was without power for 7 cumulative days due to the severe weather event between 7-10 January 2026
3. meter number – this can be found on your bill or electricity meter
4. contact number and bank details to receive the payment – these must match the electricity account holder’s details.

Once eligibility is confirmed, it will take 3-5 business days for payment to be made.

Business customers

Business applicants must provide:

• Electricity Account Holder Name – this needs to match your business’ legal or trading name
• National Metering Identifier (NMI) - this is the 10 or 11-digit number that you can find on your power bill
• Business’ legal name
• Business’ trading name
• ABN
• WorkCover Employer Number (for employing businesses only)
• meter number – this can be found on your bill or electricity meter
• contact number and bank details to receive the payment – these must match the electricity account holder’s details.

Businesses must ensure that their ABN registration information is current and accurate as at the time of application.

Business payments take slightly longer than residential payments as business applications must be reviewed by the State Revenue Office before being approved. Once applications are approved, payments should be received within 8 working days. 

Apply in person or over the phone  

Applying online is the fastest option available, however, we understand that not everyone feels comfortable sharing their details online.  

You can apply for the Prolonged Power Outage Payment over the phone by calling our Bushfire Support Line on 1300 561 171, 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, excluding public holidays.

Or you can go to Highlands Hall, 1603 Ghin Ghin Road, Highlands from 11.00am to 2.00pm where our team can help you apply in person

The Prolonged Power Outage Payment application will be open until 11:59pm on 31 March 2026.

Unfortunately, we won’t be able to process applications after this date.  

For claims related to food spoilage, please see Claims.