Electrical Contractors

What is Happening?

As the COVID situation continues to evolve, we wanted to take this opportunity to thank you for your continued assistance to help by complying with NSW Health requirements as well as supporting Essential Energy in our COVID response.

ASPs travelling from Greater Sydney to work on Essential Energy's network must adhere to the NSW Government’s current COVID-19 rules and restrictions.

Before you commence work on our network, you must provide evidence on site that the NSW Health requirements have been met.

If evidence of the requirements is not provided, Essential Energy has the right to cancel the outage.

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?

To enable Essential Energy to transition to a new, upgraded financial system in mid-August 2021, we need to pause the issuing of invoices from Essential Energy between 21 July and 16 August 2021.

Invoices will recommence on 16 August 2021 with Essential Energy’s new bank account details and will be sent via your company’s nominated email address listed in our system. To ensure we have the correct email address for your company, please email accounts.receivable@essentialenergy.com.au with your company name and preferred email address.

What do you need to do?

1. Email accounts.receivable@essentialenergy.com.au with your company name and preferred email address.
2. Ensure your Essential Energy’s new bank details are updated in your system from 16 August 2021 (new details can be found on invoices issued from this date).
3. All invoices will pause between 21 July 2021 and 16 August 2021.
4. 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?

Essential Energy will apply changes to some Ancillary Network Services (ANS) charges, effective from 30 September 2021. Changes include:

applying 2019-2024 Australian Energy Regulator (AER) approved charges for Ancillary Network Services (ANS) which are not currently charged for. The first charge will recover the costs we incur to inspect work by an electrical contractor that requires submission of a Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) to Essential Energy

switching to a new secure online Payment Gateway (managed by the ANZ bank) to collect ANS charges via credit card payment

transitioning some high-volume and low value ANS charges to upfront payment. The first charges to transition are the Certificate of Compliance for Electrical Work (CCEW) Inspections, Re-Inspection of Electrical Work and Notice of Service Work (NOSW). Charges will apply at the time the CCEW or NOSW is submitted via Secure Web Forms (SWF). Other charges will transition to upfront payment over time.

Summary of changes

The above table of Ancillary Network Service and Amounts are as per the Price Schedule for Price Schedule for Ancillary Network Services 1 July 2021. These three Network Service changes will move to upfront payment via the secure online payment gateway.

“User Pays” Principle

These fees cover the costs of services that we already provide and are expected to charge for under our agreement with the Australian Energy Regulator (AER).

Under the Regulatory Framework, we need to recover those costs from the specific customers requiring the service.

Better Customer Experience

By transitioning to upfront payments and switching to a new online payment gateway, we will improve your overall customer experience with Essential Energy:

• You will receive instant confirmation when the payment is successful.
• You will have the option to download or email tax receipts at the time of payment instead of having to wait for an invoice to be mailed.
• All payments are made in ANZ bank environment and no credit card details are kept or managed by Essential Energy. The ANZ environment meets the stringent regulatory requirements of financial institutions in Australia.

What do you need to do?

1. Accredited Service Providers, Authorised Persons and Electrical Contractors should consider pricing changes when preparing quotations for customers regarding future work.
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?

The AER has approved Essential Energy’s new regulatory charges for Ancillary Network Services from 1 July 2021.

As an Accredited Service Provider (ASP), Authorised Person (AUP) or Electrical Contractor (EC), please use the new charges applicable to the services you provide when preparing quotations for work to be undertaken after 30 June 2021.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the 2021-22 Pricing Schedules for Ancillary Network Services available on the Essential Energy website
2. Accredited Service Providers, Authorised Persons and Electrical Contractors should consider pricing changes when preparing quotations for customers regarding future work
3. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further information

You can read more about Essential Energy’s Ancillary Network Services pricing on our website at: Essential Energy > Our Network > Network Pricing and Regulatory report > Network.

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

What is happening?

From 24 May 2021, all new low voltage customer switchboards with ratings of more than 100A per phase must comply with AS/NZ 61439.

Non-compliant submissions for Essential Energy review of switchboards more than 100A will be returned for revision.

To ensure your compliance and avoid processing delays, please familiarise yourself with standard AS/NZ 61439.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the above key changes in AS/NZ 61439 and submit switchboards for review to: switchboard.review@essentialenergy.com.au.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au or contact your local Network Assurance Facilitator.

What is Happening?

One of our employees who recently attended a venue in Byron Bay last night tested positive for COVID-19. The employee had checked into the venue, isn’t displaying any COVID-19 symptoms and has followed our COVID-19 protocols and all directions from NSW Health.

We are in close communication with the employee to provide support and employees identified as close contacts have been informed and are currently isolating.

Given these events Essential Energy is making some immediate changes to our operations today. This includes:

• Closure of the Ewingsdale (Byron Bay), Ballina and Lismore depots for additional cleaning of premises and vehicles. No employees, contractors or ASPs are to enter these three depots, under any circumstance, until further notice
• Any redundant materials must be stored correctly and can be returned to an appropriate & open depot
• All planned outages in Ballina, Ewingsdale and Lismore have been postponed for the rest of this week
• Prohibition of movement between Essential Energy locations for the two weeks until 14 April.

Visitors to any Essential Energy site must check in using a QR code and we are using this detail to contact all people who have visited the Ballina, Ewingsdale and Lismore depots since the weekend. We are also working with NSW Health to ensure they have any further information they need.

The safety of our people and the community is our highest priority, and we believe the steps we have taken are necessary to minimise the impact and spread of COVID-19. These steps are designed to ensure we can continue to operate the network safely and ensure staff are available to respond to fault and emergency situations.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely, including NSW Health and government advice. Further information will be provided as required. If you have any questions please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au

In the next few days, you may receive an invitation to participate in a survey from WoolCott Research and Engagement, on behalf of Essential Energy.

The aim of this survey is to seek feedback from our customers and partners on a number of proposed improvements we are considering as part of our program of continuous improvement, which includes projects such as the BetterConnect program and Customer Journey Mapping.

We encourage you to participate, and look forward to receiving your feedback.

Further Information

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

What is happening?

When reconnecting flood-affected customer premises, please follow the steps below to ensure safe and efficient power supply restoration:

1. After successful safety and compliance inspection, log a CCEW and leave a copy with your customer.
2. A Level 2 ASP must submit a NOSW immediately after power has been restored (this will avoid our crews having to re-visit these premises).
3. When submitting the NOSW, please use Connection Application number 99999 in the mandatory field (this will avoid submitting an LV Connection Application).
4. Confirm that the customer has a copy of CEOF2482 - Premises Restoration Verification Certificate to give to their Electrical Contractor to complete. This form can be downloaded from Essential Energy's website at https://www.essentialenergy.com.au/our-network/floods/flood-reconnecting. If they do not have it, a copy can be emailed to the customer or their Electrical Contractor to be completed.
5. Essential Energy will reimburse customers up to $350 who use an ASP to cover the cost of safe reconnection. This reimbursement does not cover costs relating to the safety inspection or repair of damage to a customer’s own electrical equipment.

This advice has also been shared with our customers to help clarify their post-flood reconnection process.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the above and Essential Energy’s website at https://www.essentialenergy.com.au/our-network/floods/flood-reconnecting for more information.
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?

To assist ASPs with installation of metering for embedded generation on Master Subtractive Metering (MSM) sites, Essential Energy has created a detailed fact sheet available on the Document Library.

Key fact quick view:

1. A Master Subtractive Meter (MSM) site is any combination of meters in which a master meter measures total power supplied to one or more subtractive meter/s. There are three types of MSM configurations:
   • Simple – 1 customer, 1 retailer, 1 master meter, 1 subtractive meter only
   • Complex – 1 customer, 1 retailer, more than 1 master and/or subtractive meter
   • Multi-Premise – more than 1 customer
2. MSM sites are not compliant with the National Electricity Rules or AEMO metrology procedures and will be phased out by Essential Energy (see Master Subtractive Metering webpage).
3. To prevent incorrect billing, the MSM configuration must be rectified before smart meter installation can occur.
4. The MSM configuration may be rectified on simple and complex sites by removing subtractive meters and load control devices or, where possible, establishing a new metering point in the customer switchboard.
5. A smart meter must not be installed on a multi-premises site. Essential Energy will initiate rectification of multi-premise sites as required.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the fact sheet and MSM NMI report located on the Document Library.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

If you need further information, please email master.sub@essentialenergy.com.au or call 13 23 91.

What is Happening?

Further to our communication on 24 September 2020 we would like to provide an update on the ASP Connections and Quality Manager role. 

Hamish Wheatley will take on the role of Acting ASP Connections and Quality Manager from 1 March 2021. We would like to thank Kevin Miller for his contribution while in this role over the past 6 months.

You can contact Hamish via email hamish.wheatley@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