Ausgrid backs down on St Patrick's Day power cut at Sydney pub
A Sydney publican facing potential losses of up to $25,000 has won a last-minute reprieve after energy giant Ausgrid reversed its decision to cut power to his Newtown hotel on one of the hospitality industry's biggest trading days of the year.
The Sydney Park Hotel in Newtown had been scheduled to lose power at 9pm on St Patrick's Day — a move that would have forced licensee Will Middlehurst to cancel live bands, Irish dancers and bookings for dozens of guests mid-celebration. Owner Ray Reilly described the timing as a serious blow to a venue that has spent a decade building its St Patrick's Day reputation.
Ausgrid had notified Middlehurst only the Thursday prior that the outage — required for a planned network upgrade to support new community and business connections in the area — would run from 9pm on March 17 through to 5am the following morning. Despite repeated requests from the publican to reschedule, his concerns went unaddressed — until media intervention prompted a swift change of course.
Following contact from The Telegraph, Ausgrid confirmed it would move the outage. "The planned outage is definitely not going ahead at the time originally discussed," a spokeswoman said, adding that the company would work toward a solution keeping all parties satisfied.
For Reilly, the original decision represented a significant threat to his business at a time when operating costs are already under pressure. The venue currently pays approximately $1,000 per week in energy costs.
"We pay $1000 a week for power and now we can't even use it on St Paddy's Day," he said. "If they shut us down, we're going to have to get on the blower and turn away bookings for 50 people that are already booked in, not to mention the dancers, (and) the bands."
Reilly noted the financial fallout would have extended well beyond lost covers, with sunk costs in marketing and promotional activity also written off. "It's just endless," he said of the looming losses. "We'd have to have everyone out by 8.30 at the absolute latest, it's just crazy, mate. We've built this day up over the last 10 years. It's one of our biggest days of the year, without any doubt."
The incident marks the second outage at the venue within a month. Ausgrid indicated the rescheduled upgrade would be timed either after the pub's close of trade on St Patrick's Day or moved to an alternative date entirely.
Jonathan Jackson, 9th March 2026
