Covid 19 Update – Compliance & Protocol requirements for ASPs travelling from Greater Sydney to work on Essential Energy’s network

Update

In the three weeks since our last communication around COVID-19 compliance requirements, case numbers continue to increase significantly in the Greater Sydney area and there have been several cases in regional NSW due to workers and others travelling from Greater Sydney.

Our focus remains on protecting and promoting the health and well-being of our employees, our customers and communities, our contractors and suppliers. Where possible, we are minimising employee and Contract Service Provider (CSP) travel across our network and continuing to defer works involving travel to or from Greater Sydney. This is a practical measure to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks in regional communities and resulting impacts on individuals and businesses.

We appreciate your compliance with the NSW Government’s current COVID-19 rules and restrictions to date and urge you to remain vigilant.

ASPs undertaking work involving travel to or from Greater Sydney should be aware of the associated risks and balance these against travel need and work urgency. This includes risks of planned work or travel being disrupted, in particular if employees or ASPs are required to isolate or are affected by changes to restrictions while they are away from home.

Remember, 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.

Protocols when working with ASPs to reduce the risk of transmission of COVID-19

Risk-assessment of all planned outages and all work will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to assess the risk it poses to the community, Essential Energy employees and ASPs. Additional controls such as site exclusion zones and PPE may be required, depending on the nature and location of the work.

The following measures will be followed by Essential Energy employees when required to engage with ASPs to undertake risk assessed planned and/or emergency work while the COVID-19 emergency is active in the community.

• When making a booking or preparing to meet with ASPs on site, contact will be made to the ASP by phone to discuss what protocols are in place with the respective ASP.
• Essential Energy if satisfied that the ASP are working to the same protocols as set out by the Federal and State Government advice and guidelines with regards to social distancing measures and that there are no confirmed or suspected COVOD-19 cases being managed directly with the individual/s that you will be engaging with on site.
• When on site, Essential Energy will ensure the relevant risk assessment process is applied by asking the ASP if anyone is a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19. If there are any suspected or known cases of the individual/s, work will be ceased and escalate within Essential Energy.
• If the risk assessment allows work to proceed and there is an unavoidable document handling scenario as an exception, handling must be performed whilst maintaining minimum social distancing and wearing disposable gloves. Gloves must be disposed of immediately after use.

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.