Further ASP Outage Cancellations for Southern & South-Eastern Regions of Essential Energy

What is Happening?

As communicated last week, Essential Energy’s network has been significantly impacted by bushfire in Southern and South-Eastern NSW, due to the difficult terrain we have not been able to assess the full extent of the damage. Currently, several thousands of customers are without power.

To ensure the community’s safety and the resources available to allow us to concentrate on our recovery efforts from the bushfire damage, Essential Energy is further cancelling planned outages for three weeks (from the 19 January to 9 February 2020) at the following depots:

• Bega
• Bombala
• Cooma
• Jindabyne
• Moruya
• Tumbarumba
• Tumut

Essential Energy will be contacting the impacted ASPs that have been identified as having an outage being cancelled. Other areas should proceed as planned, however impacts from resources travelling to support the response may affect individual ASP outages.

There may be further impacts beyond the 9 February as we move through the recovery effort. As you can appreciate it’s not possible for us to forecast what these impacts will be, but we’re committed to ensuring we communicate as soon as we possibly can. Essential Energy has employees embedded in the Emergency Operational Centres, working closely with the Rural Fire Service and other agencies.

Essential Energy will reschedule cancelled outages after consultation with our ASP partners once the current emergency situation has been managed.

What you need to do?

1. Please contact your local Network Assurance Facilitator or Essential Energy contact before doing work on or near our network. Where network supply is not available to conduct testing these premises are to be left disconnected and secured with a danger tag. Contact your local Essential Energy representative to co-ordinate connection when the network supply is restored.
2. Remember our network is in an abnormal state and ensure that you put your safety first. Be on the lookout for temporary generation connections that may be back-energising installations.
3. All ASPs are only allowed to undertake work on or near the network that they are accredited and authorised to perform (eg only overhead authorised ASPs are to perform overhead service works).
4. Please communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation and we thank you for your patience and understanding during this difficult time.

Further Information

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