Electrical Contractors

What is Happening?

Essential Energy is changing the fees we charge for some Low Voltage Basic Connection Applications. We are providing six weeks’ notice of our first fee change to allow you time to prepare.

Basic Connection Application fee

From 14 March 2022, $123.38 (exc GST) will be charged per offer where a technical review is required.

This will ensure fee consistency for all Basic Connection Offers requiring technical review and recover the cost of assessing these applications from those requiring the work.

How will I know if I am going to be charged?

Basic connections involve minimal or no augmentation of the distribution network and are within the limits outlined below:

A technical review is required when the proposed connection:

• exceeds these limits, and / or
• involves electricity generation (e.g., solar, wind, hydropower) to enable export to the electricity network.

A common application type impacted by this change is a new solar connection application. Please note that customers who include a note in their application that they are willing to voluntarily limit their solar export to 5kW (Urban) or 3kW (Rural) will not incur the fee.

Additional information can be found in our Connecting to the Network Information Pack.

Complex Connection Application fee

Complex Connection Applications can occasionally require a detailed assessment by a Connections Planning Engineer. Later this year, we will introduce a fee to recover the cost of any complex connection application that requires a detailed assessment by a Connections Planning Engineer. We will provide more information prior to this fee introduction.

What do you need to do

1. Accredited Service Providers, Authorised Persons, Electrical Contractors, Solar Retailers and Solar Installers should consider pricing changes when preparing quotations or estimates for customers regarding future connection applications to be submitted on or after 14 March 2022.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

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

Background

Currently, around 20% of Connection Applications are rejected due to missing or incorrect information in the Connection Point / Pole / Substation Number field.

To help you submit correct applications, our recently released Network Information Portal provides a significant amount of information about Essential Energy’s network, including the asset numbers for all poles and substations in a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping format.

The Network Information Portal is accessible on all devices. By typing in the address (or a nearby address), you can easily find the required connection point asset number.

What do you need to do?

1. Watch a demonstration video and visit Network Information Portal via Essential Energy's Website and start exploring our network.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

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

What is Happening?

Following discussions on Wednesday, Essential Energy is aware that the Electrical Trades Union (ETU) have advised their members that they will suspend all Protected Industrial Action effective immediately.

Negotiations continue to be held to seek resolution on outstanding matters. Essential Energy remains committed to the good faith bargaining process with the combined unions to reach a modern Enterprise Agreement. We want an agreement that reflects the needs of employees while meeting our communities’ expectations around energy affordability.

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.

UPDATE:

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) has notified Essential Energy of additional proposed industrial action in the form of an unlimited number of bans on issuing Access Permits and Field Access Authorities to non-Essential Energy staff commencing at 12:00am Thursday 2 December 2021 and concluding at 12:00am on Friday 3 December 2021; and a ban for an indefinite period on locking systems commencing 12:00am Thursday 2 December 2021.

In addition to the above there remains a range of other indefinite or periodic bans in place, including limitations on the following work tasks and activities:

• Travelling outside normal working hours.
• Use of a specified range of Information Technology programs and Applications.
• Certifying and inspecting Accredited Service Providers (ASPs) designs and projects.
• Verification on Life support Customers for planned outages.

Field Staff Switching – meaning that power will not be switched off which will prevent certain planned works from going ahead.

The ETU industrial action notice also includes several indefinite actions requesting that employees undertake a range of communications activities including distributing ETU/CEPU industrial campaign-related material to members of the public and Essential Energy staff; and employees providing their views concerning industrial action with members of the community and media.

Some of the cited actions include a Safety Commitment, whereby relevant employees will be ready, willing and able to perform unplanned work that, if not performed imminently, would create a serious and imminent threat to human life.

Potential Impacts

The planned industrial action is likely to create unavoidable disruptions for ASPs, contractors and customers through the possible postponement of planned work. ASPs will receive notice of planned work being postponed on the morning of the job. Notice will be provided through a phone call or email that morning.

Any job that is postponed will need to be resubmitted. This can be completed through the usual process of completing a ‘Request for Planned Outage’ form CEOP6013 and submitting via contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au.

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.

Important information from NECA

NECA and the Electrical Regulatory Authorities Council (ERAC) have advised that some brands of Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) inverters are non-compliant with Australian standards.

These types of inverters are causing final subcircuit Residual Current Device (RCDs) and Residual Current Breaker with Over-Current (RCBOs) to not operate and are bypassing the Multiple Earthed Neutral (MEN) in the electrical installation.

For more information in relation to electrical installations and solar / small scale generation and documents on this subject, please visit the ERAC website.

What do you need to do?

Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information, please visit ERAC website.

UPDATE ON:

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) has notified Essential Energy of proposed industrial action on Tuesday 30 November 2021 in the form of an unlimited number of bans on issuing Access Permits and Field Access Authorities to non-Essential Energy staff. The ban will commence at 12:00am on Tuesday 30 November and conclude at 12:00am on Wednesday 1 December 2021.

In addition to the above there remains a range of other indefinite or periodic bans in place, including limitations on the following work tasks and activities:

• Travelling outside normal working hours.
• Use of a specified range of Information Technology programs and Applications.
• Certifying and inspecting Accredited Service Providers’ (ASP’s) designs and projects.
• Verification on Life support Customers for planned outages.
• Field Staff Switching – meaning that power will not be switched off which will prevent certain planned works from going ahead.

The ETU industrial action notice also includes several indefinite actions requesting that employees undertake a range of communications activities including distributing ETU/CEPU industrial campaign-related material to members of the public and Essential Energy staff; and employees providing their views concerning industrial action with members of the community and media.

Some of the cited actions include a Safety Commitment, whereby relevant employees will be ready, willing and able to perform unplanned work that, if not performed imminently, would create a serious and imminent threat to human life.

The planned industrial action for Tuesday 30 November is likely to create unavoidable disruptions for ASP’s, contractors and customers through the possible postponement of planned work. ASP’s will receive notice of planned work being postponed on the morning of the job. Notice will be provided through a phone call or email that morning.

Any job that is postponed will need to be resubmitted. This can be completed through the usual process of completing a ‘Request for Planned Outage’ form CEOP6013 and submitting via contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au.

It is disappointing the ETU is conducting industrial action following months of good faith bargaining. Essential Energy continues to pursue an agreement that recognises the hard work of our employees, while balancing our community’s expectations around energy costs.

Our customers, employees, contractors safety and that of the wider community remains our number one priority. We will continue to keep you updated on relevant developments as they occur and thank you for your patience and support.

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.

UPDATE ON:

Disappointingly, the ETU is conducting industrial action following months of good faith bargaining. Essential Energy continues to pursue an agreement that recognises the hard work of our employees, while balancing our community’s expectations around energy costs.

Last week the ETU communicated its intention to take industrial action from 17 November 2021. On Thursday 18 and Friday 19 November, Essential Energy received further notices from the ETU on protected industrial action. These notices include:

• An unlimited number of bans on issuing access permits and field access authorities to non-Essential Energy staff commencing 12am Tuesday 23 November through to midnight Thursday 25 November 2021.
• A work stoppage for 12 hours on Thursday 25 November from 6am – 6pm
• An unlimited ban on locking systems in the period of 8am to 11am each day, commencing Thursday 25 November and repeated on each day thereafter. This means that participating crews will not unlock any devices including phones to answer calls, iPads to conduct key work activities, vehicles or gates and buildings.

The ETU-led industrial action is taking place during the early phase of the bushfire season and commencement of storm season. This action makes it more difficult for small business owners, developers, famers, landowners, Councils and other groups in our rural and regional communities as they try to recover from the detrimental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Essential Energy has reprioritised planned work to ensure urgent and critical work can be performed as required, to reduce the risk of outages not being responded to in a timely and safe manner. Daily project assessment continues to minimise the impact for developers and contractors across regional NSW.

Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, the action being led by the ETU will have unavoidable disruptions for customers, ASPs and contractors.

Safety, for our customers, employees, contractors and the wider community, remains our number one priority. We will continue to update you on relevant developments as they occur. In the meantime, thank you for your patience and support.

What do you need to do?

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

Further Information

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

UPDATE ON:

• Potential risks to the operation of Essential Energy’s electricity network from protected industrial action planned by the Electrical Trades Union (ETU)
• Steps we are taking to mitigate the impact for our more than 875,000 customers across rural and regional NSW and parts of southern QLD.

Potential industrial action

Following approval by the Fair Work Commission of the ETU’s application for a Protected Action Ballot Order, a ballot of ETU members on whether they approve the taking of industrial action closed on 4 November 2021, with members voting in favour of industrial action.

On 11 November 2021, Essential Energy received notices from the ETU of their intention to take industrial action effective from 17 November 2021. The ETU notification cited twenty different actions that may be taken, including a one-hour and 15-minute stoppage from 9:00-10:16am on 17 November 2021.

In addition to the defined work stoppage there are a range of other indefinite or periodic bans in place. These include limitations on:

• Travelling outside normal working hours.
• Use of a specified range of information technology programs and applications.
• Certifying and inspecting Accredited Service Providers (ASPs) designs and projects.
• Verification of life support customers for planned outages.
• Field staff switching – meaning that power will not be switched off, preventing certain planned works from going ahead.

The ETU industrial action notice also includes a number of indefinite actions requesting that employees undertake a range of communications activities including distributing ETU/CEPU industrial campaign-related material to members of the public and Essential Energy staff; and employees providing their views concerning industrial action with members of the community and media.

Some of the cited actions include a Safety Commitment, whereby relevant employees will be ready, willing and able to perform unplanned work that, if not performed imminently, would create a serious and imminent threat to human life.

It is regrettable that the ETU’s proposed industrial action coincides with the early phase of bushfire season and threatens to extend through the peak summer period. It also comes as our rural and regional communities seek to recover from the detrimental impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Steps to mitigate network risks

Essential Energy has developed plans designed to ease the impact of industrial action for our residential and business customers, with the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers and regional communities the priority. We have reprioritised planned work to ensure urgent and critical work can be performed and to mitigate the risk of fault and emergency work not being responded to in a timely and safe manner. We do expect unavoidable disruptions which could adversely impact the network and the time taken to restore power to customers during an unplanned outage.

Enterprise Agreement negotiations

The industrial action by the ETU comes after months of negotiations on Essential Energy’s 2021 Enterprise Agreement. The ETU and other unions continue to pursue more than 50 individual claims which, if fully implemented, would increase costs by more than 10 per cent.

Essential Energy’s offer to employees includes a 7.5% increase to wages and allowances over the next three years, plus a 0.75% increase through improvements to conditions. The offer includes no loss of employment conditions, with every element representing an overall improvement on the conditions in the 2018 Agreement. The combined unions have rejected this offer.

Last month employees participated in an enterprise agreement ballot. 75 per cent of employees who voted in the ballot rejected the offer. We have reiterated to the unions our intention to provide fair and reasonable outcomes for our employees, customers and shareholders under the Enterprise Agreement. Essential Energy remains committed to ensuring a modern Enterprise Agreement that reflects the needs of employees while meeting our communities’ expectations for a safe, reliable and affordable supply of electricity and will continue to bargain in good faith with the ETU and other unions to achieve an acceptable outcome.

As we enter this uncertain period, please be assured that the safety of our customers, employees, ASPs, contractors and the wider community remains the number one priority for Essential Energy and we will be working to mitigate the impact of the ETU’s planned industrial action where we can. We will continue to update you on relevant developments as they occur.

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.

What is Happening?

Following an organisational restructure effective from 1 November 2021, David Wilson will be returning to our ASP team as Manager Distribution Connections, and your point of contact. He can be contacted via email: david.wilson@essentialenergy.com.au.

Hamish Wheatley has moved from ASP Connections and Quality and is now our Public Lighting and Unmetered Supply Manager.

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 or support, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

What is Happening?

To minimise the disruption to customers during the Christmas / New Year period, no planned interruptions with a customer impact will be scheduled from 20 December 2021 to 6 January 2022.  

Also Contestable Works will be closed during the same period with business resuming as normal from 4 January 2022. 

Minimal processing of emails/documentation or Asset Labels will occur from Contestable Works mailbox during the above mentioned period.

What do you need to do?

1. Review your planned interruption schedule for the dates above and work with your nominated Local Depot Switching Resource to reschedule where required.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

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