Residents and businesses in Kelso, Raglan and surrounding areas were left in the dark until just after 7am after the blackout struck at 5.40am.

Essential Energy south-eastern regional manager Phillip Green confirmed power went out to 5800 customers across Bathurst due to a fault on the high voltage electricity network.

Best Western Coachman’s Inn Motel was among the businesses that lost power – and revenue.

Owner Tony Owens said the blackout meant the hotel could not offer its usual cooked breakfast options and a number of guests went elsewhere.

“We couldn’t do breakfast or cooking ... it’s not ideal, but most people were understanding,” he said.

BIG4 Bathurst Panorama Holiday Park owner Jason Jarvis was thankful the blackout occurred before most guests woke up.

“I’m just glad the computers were back up and running by 8am,” he said.

The Western Advocate also received reports that Bunnings Warehouse and the BP service station on the Sydney Road were affected by the power outage.

Bathurstians took to the Western Advocate Facebook page to vent their anger over the early morning blackout.

“This is crap, how am I meant to warm a bottle up for my daughter,” Keira Monk posted.

Peter Mann, meanwhile, shared his thoughts on the blackout and morning coffee habits.

“Watch out world if we don’t get our morning coffee,” he posted.

Mr Green said network safety protection equipment operated at approximately 5.40am, shutting off power to the affected area.

“Crews from the Bathurst depot responded immediately to investigate the cause of the fault and, after deeming the area to be safe, restored power to all customers shortly after 7am,” he said.

“The fault appears related to heavy rainfall in the area at the time.

“We thank customers for their patience while we undertook inspections to confirm the safety of the electricity network, and apologise for any inconvenience caused by the unplanned supply interruption.”