BROKEN Hill resident Leroy Johnson was left in the dark by energy company Transgrid this week when the power outages affected his ability to use his life-saving dialysis machine.

Mr Johnson requires use of the device three times a week to clean toxins out of his blood while he waits for a kidney transplant.

But he said he didn't receive any extra communication from Transgrid or Essential Energy about the power outages, and was unaware when electricity would be restored, despite being on a list of residents who had essential energy needs.

"I was getting messages saying the power would be back on at midday on Tuesday," he said.

Mr Johnson said he had scheduled an appointment for dialysis at the hospital, which is powered by generator, but cancelled it when the energy company sent a text advising power should be restored by 12pm, thinking he'd be able to use his home dialysis machine.

"I just kept waiting for it to come back," he said.

"I stayed up until about midnight and it still wasn't on. I could feel my body starting to slow down."

Mr Johnson said the power was eventually restored some time in the early hours of the morning, although on Wednesday morning the power once again was shut off in his area, likely for load-sharing.

"It'd be good for someone to tell us when it's not going to be on in our area, because otherwise if it goes out unexpectedly and I'm due for dialysis, I have to cross my fingers and hope the hospital has got a spot," he said.

"We're just relying on this information you get, and often it's not true. That's the scary part of it, the not knowing."

On Wednesday, Essential Energy delivered two generators to Mr Johnson's house, after six days of unreliable power.