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

    What is Happening?

    Essential Energy’s network was significantly damaged during the devastating fires across the south cost of NSW. To ensure the community’s safety and to allow our resources to concentrate on our recovery efforts from the bushfire damage, Essential Energy is further cancelling planned outages for two more weeks (9 February to 23 February 2020) at the following depots:

    • Bega
    • Bombala
    • Cooma
    • Jindabyne
    • Moruya


    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 23 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 do 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.
    5. Review the above etc
    6. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
    7. View this communication via Essential Engagement at Essential Engagement/ASP


    Further Information

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

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    Deadends 7/3.00 AAAC Supplier Removed from the Approved Materials List

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    Essential Energy catalogue number 278010 – Deadends 7/3.00 AAAC one supplier has been removed from the approved materials list for safety reasons and must not be used on the network.

    A new version of the approved material list was published on 30 January 2020.

    What do you need to do?

    1. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
    2. Review CEOM7004 – Standard Contestable (Approved) materials list on the Document Library
    Further Information

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

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    Safety Brief 892 - Ongoing Works in Fire Affected Grounds

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    What is Happening?

    As Essential Energy’s response to the bushfire events across the state continue, we are seeing a number of potentially hazardous situations present themselves to those working on the Essential Energy network.

    Safety Brief 892 – Ongoing Works in Fire Affected Grounds is being shared for your information and can be accessed from Essential Energy’s Document Library or Essential Engagement/ASP Engagement.


    During this Bushfire time we ask you to:

    • 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.
    • 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.
    • That 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).


    Further Information

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

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    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

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    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 over the past couple of weeks in Southern and South-Eastern NSW, with further damage being inflicted on Saturday. We have not been able to assess the full extent of the damage due to issues accessing the firegrounds, but the likelihood is many hundreds of poles have been damaged. Thousands of customers on the South Coast are currently 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 cancelling ASP planned outages next week (from the 13th to 19th January 2020) in the Southern and South-Eastern areas of NSW. 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 next week 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.

    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

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    ASP Outage Cancellations Across Essential Energy

    What is Happening?

    Essential Energy’s network has been significantly impacted over the past week in Southern and South-Eastern NSW. We have not been able to assess the full extent of the damage due to access issues, but the likelihood is many hundreds of poles have been damaged. Thousands of customers on the South Coast are without power. There is also concern about the possibility of significant further damage in those areas with this Saturday’s forecast predicting weather conditions as bad as Tuesday’s.

    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 cancelling all ASP planned outages next week (from the 6th to 12th January 2020).

    There may be further impacts beyond next week 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.

    Text messages will be sent out to affected ASPs today informing you of the situation.

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

    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


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    Safety Alert - SA 82-19 Switching Incident

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    What is Happening?

    On the morning of 9 December 2019 a catastrophic failure occurred within an oil filled ABB SDAF metal clad switch during operating work, resulting in two Essential Energy employees sustaining serious burn injuries.

    As a precautionary measure and effective immediately, all distribution metal clad High Voltage (HV) Oil Filled Switchgear is to be de-energised prior to local operation.

    Essential Energy is in the process of reviewing planned outages to identify those requiring local switching of the impacted metal clad ground mounted switchgear.

    As a result of this serious safety incident and subsequent operating restriction, some planned outages may be cancelled.

    Safety Alert 82-19 – ABB SDAF Switchgear is being shared for your information and can be accessed from Essential Energy’s Document Library or Essential Engagement.

    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

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    ASP outages recommence across parts of Essential Energy

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    What is happening?

    Further to yesterday’s communication, Essential Energy would like to advise that ASP outages will recommence tomorrow 14th November 2019, apart from some fire affected areas.

    If customers had already been notified of their outage cancellation, Essential Energy will reschedule these outages. Please contact your Essential Energy Network Assurance Facilitator to obtain more information.

    As you can appreciate with the ongoing situation it has been difficult for us to forecast the impacts to our network, but we’re committed to ensuring we communicate these impacts as soon as we possibly can.

    Please communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation. We thank you for your patience and understanding, please also continue to make safety your priority during these difficult times.

    Further Information

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

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Update - Outage Cancellations across Essential Energy

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    What is happening?

    Further to yesterday’s communication, the latest forecasts from the RFS have indicated that today’s bushfire conditions are worse than predicted yesterday. The potential risks to Essential Energy’s network are at the high end of our predictions. We will not know the full impact on our network until at least tomorrow, with conditions expected to peak in the evening.
    To ensure the community’s safety and allow us to focus on the recovery effort, Essential Energy is cancelling all ASP planned outages for the remainder of this week, and until Monday 18th November at the least.

    There may be further impacts to next week’s outages as we gain more clarity on the extent of the damage to our network over the next few days. 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 these impacts as soon as we possibly can.

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

    Please communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation. We thank you for your patience and understanding, please also continue to make safety your priority during these difficult times.

    Further Information

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

  • You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.

    Outage Cancellations across Essential Energy

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    What is Happening?

    Bushfires across NSW are continuing to cause devastation to residents with catastrophic fire conditions predicted for tomorrow, Tuesday 12 November 2019.

    The NSW Government has declared a State of Emergency for NSW the next seven days, the first declared since 2013 and a state-wide total fire-ban is also in effect.

    To ensure the community’s safety, Essential Energy is cancelling all planned outages for Tuesday 12 November 2019.

    Essential Energy’s network has been significantly impacted over the past five days with more than 70 fires burning across the state and initial indications that more than 400 power poles have been damaged. Thousands of customers in the MidCoast, Port-Macquarie Hastings, Kempsey, Armidale, Nambucca, Bellingen, Clarence valley and Ballina local government areas are without power.

    Essential Energy has employees embedded in the Emergency Operational Centres, working closely with the Rural Fire Service and other agencies.

    Text messages will be sent out to affected ASPs today informing you of the situation.

    There are likely to be further impacts as we move through this week and 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 these impacts as soon as we possibly can.

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

    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