Essential Connections

Essential Connections Weekly Update 26th October 2022

The new design portal went live on Monday 24th October 2022, allowing new design applications to be submitted via the Essential Connections portal.

Data migration activities in relation to existing design applications and submissions are almost complete and most files related to design cases should be available from today.

Large files may take until the end of the week to come through the new system. If you need access to any missing files urgently, please email: contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au and provide the relevant reference details for Essential Energy to manually attach the files to the new system.

Process for re-certifications

We have had a couple of queries around the process to follow for recertifications.

If the design for your project was certified via the Contestable Works process, you will need to follow the Contestable Works process for recertification.

If the design for your project was certified in the Design Portal (ST projects) or in the Essential Connections portal, you will need to complete the recertification in Essential Connections.

If you need to do a recertification of a design in Essential Connections on a migrated design case, you may find that you error messages on your screen. In this instance, check the compliance checkboxes in the same way you do for a new design submission (follow the external user guide for design submission). This won’t be required where you do a recertification on a design certified in the new portal.

Need help?

A registered user guide has been published on our Essential Connections Support portal, to help you navigate the new design portal. The guide contains information on how to log in, submit requests in the new portal and where to go for additional support so please use this as your first point of contact, along with the below support sessions. Note: If the latest version (October 2022) doesn’t appear, hit the ctrl key + F5 to refresh the guide. Please find a link to the Level 3 ASP Design Training Recording.

Our support sessions continue, with many great questions received so far, so please join one of our upcoming sessions to have your questions addressed live.

What do you need to do?

1. Access our Essential Connections Support to view our registered user guide.
2. Sign up to one of the above sessions to have your questions answered live.
3. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
4. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

As you know, the BetterConnect project has been preparing for the next Essential Connections release, which will support the design phase of the end-to-end connections process to be managed in the Essential Connections portal.

Although we are progressing well with ensuring the readiness of the system, and it is available for the submission of new design applications, we are experiencing a delay in making your existing design-related data available.

What does this mean for you?

New and in-flight connection enquiries and applications

• The system is now open and ready to accept new connection enquiries and applications and Essential Energy is able to assess and provide you with connection offers

New design submissions

• You can now submit NEW easement requests and design related services (design information application requests, design submissions, asset labels and non-standard approvals) via the Essential Connections portal.

Existing design submissions (design information applications, design submissions and non-standard approvals)

• Whilst you will be able to see your in-flight design cases we are still migrating your design file attachments into Essential Connections portal - these will be available progressively over the coming days.
• We anticipate that all data will be available this week

PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS OR PROCESS ANY IN-FLIGHT DESIGN PROJECTS AS THIS MAY CORRUPT YOUR REQUESTS

Design Information Applications where the Connection Application was Submitted in the NECF Portal

If you have a design information application (DIA) request to submit for a project where the connection application was processed in the NECF portal you won’t be able to submit the request until you get an Essential Connection Number (ECN) and application case number from us. Please send an email to contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au and include your connection offer number and street address and we will be able to provide you with the information you need to submit the Design Information Application (DIA) request.

Need help? Join our Essential Connections support sessions and have your problems solved live!

Support sessions have been scheduled to address any system questions and solve your problems live. If you need help accessing the portal or have any navigation questions, please join us in one of our sessions and we’ll do our best to assist you!

For learning materials and our step by step Registered User Manual

Information on Essential Connection portal and how to use the solution can be found on Essential Energy's support page, check out the Essential Connections Portal Registered User Manual.

Additional support

If you can’t make any of the support sessions mentioned above, please send an email to the relevant mailbox based on your type of enquiry.

Note: please send your enquiry to one mailbox only and do not cc other mailboxes as this will delay Essential Energy’s response to your enquiry.

Essential Connections Weekly Update 20th October 2022

We continue to work towards next Monday 24th October 2022 for the new design portal to go live. As previously communicated, the following processes are going live on Monday 24th October @ 09:00am.

• Design Information Applications
• Design Submissions
• Non-Standard Approvals
• Asset Labels
• Easements

Construction (Level 1 ASP) processes will not be used in the new system until later in the year. These processes will continue to be carried out via Contestable works and we will communicate further around the phased onboarding approach for construction.

If you have missed this week’s Essential Connections ASP information session or would like to revisit any of the information, please view the Information Session and/or watch the Recording.

Level 3 ASPs: Accessing Essential Connections on Monday 24 October 2022

Existing Level 3 ASPs who have been using Essential Connections will automatically have access to the portal – there is no need to register for the new system.

When you access the system on Monday, the ‘Design Portal’ tile will have disappeared from your OKTA screen, leaving only the ‘Essential Connections’ tile. Use the Essential Connections tile from Monday to access all your design related activity.

For some L3 ASPs you may find an error message when you log in, depending on how you have bookmarked the Essential Connections portal in your browser. If this is the case, simply go to Essential Energy okta to login to the system (and make sure you update your bookmark).

Essential Connections Design Go Live Support Sessions – Starting next week!

Click on the link(s) to register your attendance for one of our support sessions.

NOTE: Drop-in support sessions have been scheduled after go-live to support you and address your enquiries live. These sessions should be your first point of contact to have your queries answered.

Change in easement hold point

Not all projects will be able to transition to the new hold point as highlighted below.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the overview presentation and watch the session recording by clicking on the Essential Connections Information Session above.
2. Access the level 3 ASP 3 hub on Essential Engagement for links to training materials and our user manual.
3. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
4. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au

Weekly Update on Essential Connections

As go-live has been pushed back to the 24 October 2022, this will ensure a smooth transition to the new system.

Please find attached the Essential Connections overview presented during the weekly update session. If you missed out or would like to revisit any of the information, click on the Essential Connections Information Session to view the recording and the slide pack.

The next session will be as follows:

Follow this link to join the meeting, you will be given plenty of time to ask any questions you may have.

Level 3 ASP training sessions postponed

As we have moved our go-live date out, we have postponed the training sessions for 12, 14 & 20 October 2022, to align them closer to the new date. More details of the new training sessions will be provided in future communications.

Transitions Activity

From 18 October (5pm):

• the current Design Portal will no longer be accessible
• there will be a freeze on Design Information requests, Design Submission requests, Asset Label requests, Non-Standard Approvals and Re-certification requests (that have been submitted via the Design Portal)
• All new Design Information requests will be required to be submitted via the new Essential Connections portal and will not be accepted via email.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the transition information and ASP session information pack and recording.
2. Please complete our readiness survey here. It only takes 2 minutes.
3. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

Access our Essential Connections information sessions

Thanks to those of you who attended the information session on Essential Connections, If you missed out, or would like to revisit any of the information, you can click on Essential Connections Information Session to view the session recording and the ASP information session presentation.

Our next session will take place on Wednesday 7th September 8:30 am - 9:30 am and focus on the following:

We’ll continue to walk through the end-to-end process and key changes in subsequent sessions.

Here is a reminder of the Zoom link: Join Zoom Meeting.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the overview presentation and watch the session recording by clicking on the Essential Connections Information Session.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

Access our Essential Connections information sessions

Thanks to those of you who attended the information session on Essential Connections, If you missed out, or would like to revisit any of the information, you can click on Essential Connections Information Session to view the session recording and the ASP information session presentation.

Our next session will take place on Wednesday 31 August 8:30 am-9:30 am and focus on the following:

We’ll continue to walk through the end-to-end process and key changes in subsequent sessions.

Here is a reminder of the Zoom link: Join Zoom Meeting.

Readiness Survey

In order to get your feedback and make sure that you have all the information that you need ahead of go live, we will measure your readiness to adopt the new system through regular surveys.

This will help us to make your experience as smooth as possible and tailor our approach to your needs so that you feel supported throughout the process.

Access the survey here. It takes 2 minutes to complete.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the attached overview presentation and watch the session recording by clicking on the Essential Connections Information Session.
2. Complete the readiness survey.
3. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

Essential Energy is pleased to advise that we have successfully fixed two issues in our recently launched applications and enquiries portal, Essential Connections.

Issues resolved:

• Application submission error
• Selecting the same inverter multiple times in one application and receiving an ‘exceeded limit’ error. You now only need to select the type of inverter once and add the quantity of the inverter you are connecting.

Work continues to enhance your experience with:

Retail Customer Details on connection application

• As part of the application or enquiry process you are required to supply the contact details of the individual or business that has engaged you to apply on their behalf.
• Essential Energy has updated the application form to ensure that the requirement to enter the individual or business details that you are applying on behalf of, is more clearly expressed.
• This enables Essential Energy to ensure the Connection Offer letter is made out to the correct person/business (the connection owner) and allows us to contact them should the need arise about their connection.

Selecting the correct application form when only installing Solar or Batteries

• If you are only installing Solar or Batteries, use the following form 'Modify an existing or add a new embedded generation system'.

Proving easy access to historical invoices from within your case view

• For ease of reporting and reconciliation copies of your invoices can be accessed within your enquiries or applications

Essential Energy has provided a simplified path to enable you to find your historical invoices.

1. Find the ‘Manage my Invoices’ heading in the task bar
2. Select My Invoices
3. Find the invoice from the list presented
4. Open the invoice by clicking on the INV- number

Introduction of Ancillary Network Services (ANS) fees and upfront payment

• The Essential Connections portal enables Essential Energy to charge for Ancillary Network Services (ANS) fees, as required by the Australian Energy Regulator. Up until now, we have not charged for some of these fees, as our systems did not support such charging.
• The look and feel of our Essential Upfront Invoices has changed. These invoices are system generated. If you have any questions about the new look invoices please contact aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.
• Essential Energy has developed some information on the ANS fees for you to read - introduction of new fees and upfront payment, available on Essential Engagement.

Where to go for support:

• Check our Support page, where you can find information to help you use and submit applications through Essential Connections.

We are continuing to experience a high volume of calls and emails. If you have contacted us, but are yet to receive a response, please be patient, we will respond as soon as possible.

What do you need to do?

Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information or support, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

Last week we communicated with you regarding unexpected issues since the release of the Essential Connections portal. We would like to provide an update on our progress.

Successful resolution of issues:  

• Payments that have been made but the status is appearing as ‘Pending Payment’ in portal – Resolved. Essential Energy has processed all payments and progressed the applications to the next stage.
• Document upload and system error issues – Resolved. You should now be able to successfully submit your enquiries and/or applications.

Please note, any unsuccessful enquiry and/or applications with a status of ‘draft’ will need to be recreated where the above error has occurred, you will need to start this enquiry and/or application again.

Click on “Submit a New Connection Application”, or “Submit a New Connection Enquiry” from the Essential Connections portal homepage.

If you continue to experience issues when trying to submit, please contact us via aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

Level 3 ASPs may still experience unhandled system errors preventing submission of enquiries and/or applications.

Onboarding and enrolment issues - Level 1 and 2 ASPs and Electrical Contractors

• If you did not receive an email and have not already contacted us, please check for the email in your spam or junk folder. If you still cannot find the email, please contact Essential Connections support, via salesforce.support@essentialenergy.com.au.

Essential Connections Portal application form issues

We have become aware that duplicate accounts have been created, due to ASPs and ECs inputting their own details (for example, email and phone number) rather than the connecting customer’s details, where required. When you begin an application, the top of the form is pre-populated with your own details. You do not need to re-enter your details. We do however need the contact details for the connecting customer.

Please make sure you input the correct information into the Connection Application via Essential Connections.

Responding to your enquiries

We are continuing to experience a high volume of calls and emails. If you have contacted us, but are yet to receive a response, please be patient, we will respond as soon as possible.

What do you need to do?

Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information or support, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

Yesterday we communicated with you regarding unexpected issues since the release of the Essential Connections portal. We would like to provide an update on our progress.

By now you should have received a welcome/activation email. If you have not received an email and have not already contacted us please contact Essential Connections support, via salesforce.support@essentialenergy.com.au.

Other technical issues for which we are targeting a resolution over the weekend are:

• Payment made but status appearing as Pending Payment in portal
• Document upload issues.

Responding to your enquiries

We are experiencing high call volumes and emails. If you have contacted us, but are yet to receive a response, please be patient, we will respond as soon as possible.

We will keep up updated

We are committed to updating you on the progress of resolving issues and keeping you informed. Our next communications will be on Tuesday 14 June.

Thank you for your patience while we continue to work through these issues with the new system.

What do you need to do?

1. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
2. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

The new Essential Energy Essential Connections Portal was launched on Monday, 6 June 2022. The launch of the new portal has introduced unexpected issues for Accredited Service Provider (ASPs) and Electrical Contractors (ECs).

We are working to address these issues as soon as possible. Note: Viewing your applications submitted and payments issues are now resolved

Onboarding and enrolment issues - Level 1 and 2 ASPs and Electrical Contractors

• If you did not receive a welcome email on Sunday, 5 June to enrol from the email address noreply@okta.com.au check your junk or clutter folder
• If you cannot find the welcome email, please contact Essential Connections support, via salesforce.support@essentialenergy.com.au.

Essential Connections Portal application form issues

We have become aware that duplicate accounts are being created as ASPs are inputting their details instead of the customers details where required.

Please make sure you input the correct information into the Essential Connections portal application form.

Other issues

If you have experienced other issues these will be managed and if you have contacted us, but are yet to receive a response, please be patient, we will respond as soon as possible.

We will keep up updated

We apologise for the inconvenience that these issues may have caused you.

We will update you on the progress of our work to restore the Essential Connections Portal by COB Friday 10 June.

What do you need to do?

Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.