Strong winds gusts continue to hit Lord Howe Island as Cyclone Uesi moves south throughout the night.
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The Bureau of Meteorology says 102km/h winds are now hitting the island 600km east of Port Macquarie, with only 0.2 millimetres of rain recorded so far.
The ex-tropical cyclone low pressure system will produce heavy rainfall from about midnight on Friday into early Saturday morning.
Winds are forecast to gust up to 150km/h and about 150mm of rain could drench the island over 24 hours.
A hazardous surf warning was issued for the Byron Bay coast on Thursday and most of the state's coastline on Friday.
Byron Bay has already experienced significant wave heights of up to 3.5 metres.
On Thursday night, 15,000 homes and businesses were still without power across Sydney and the Central Coast.
Endeavour Energy has restored power to all customers affected by Sunday's weather, including 93,000 customers and repairing 1150 electrical hazards.
The team will now support Ausgrid, who have been working around the clock to restore power to almost 18,000 customers.
Ausgrid has restored power to about 122,000 homes and businesses since Sunday, with an aim of restoring all supplies by this Sunday.
Additional resources, including personnel from the State Emergency Service, Rural Fire Service and NSW Fire and Rescue have been on the ground on Thursday to help remove hundreds of fallen trees to allow Ausgrid crews to get in and make repairs.
Australian Associated Press
