You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.
What is Happening?
To minimise disruption to customers during the Christmas / New Year period, we’ll cease scheduling planned outages with a customer impact from 19 December 2025 until 4 January 2026.
Our Contestable Works office will also be closed from 19 December 2025, with business resuming as normal from 5 January 2026. During this period, minimal Essential Connections Portal cases/enquires/emails/documentation or Asset Labels will be processed.
What do you need to do?
- Review your planned interruption schedule for the dates above and work with your nominated Local Depot Switching Resource to reschedule where required.
- 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.
What is happening?
As we enter storm season, it’s critical to be aware of Essential Energy’s safety requirements regarding lightning strikes.
Essential Energy employee safety requirements
While ASPs are responsible for their worksites, Essential Energy employees are required to adhere to the following safety protocols if a lightning alert is received, or thunder is heard:
- Stop work immediately—lightning can strike up to 10 km ahead of a storm
- Wait at least 30 minutes after the last lightning strike before resuming work
- Do not stay in open areas or under tall objects like trees or poles
-
Move inside a vehicle if possible. If no shelter is available, crouch down with your feet together and your head tucked in. If you’re with others, spread out and keep several meters apart
- Avoid contact with anything that could conduct electricity, such as gates
- Stop operating Mobile Elevated Work Platforms and cranes. If possible, stow them during storms
- Always notify other crews in the area by radio when you detect thunder or lightning.
This may impact ASP outage timeframes.
What do you need to do?
- Review the above information
- 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.
What is happening?
The Essential Connections enquiry channel has been updated to include the option ‘General Enquiry’. A general enquiry can be independent or linked to an existing case. To raise an enquiry, you can either be a registered user or a guest.
This option has been created to assist you with minor questions, when you don’t know who to reach out to or what process to follow. The majority of general enquiries will not incur a fee however those that require technical assessment will.
We will continue to develop the general enquiry channel over time to improve your experience.
Types of Enquiries
To help us to assist you and ensure your enquiry gets to the correct team, please select the correction option from the below enquiry listing:
- General Enquiry: What's on your mind today? Ask away.
- Solar enquiries: for solar energy connections including installations and upgrades.
- Pioneer scheme: for questions about pioneer scheme eligibility.
- Easement and land: for legal review, development applications and easement enquiries for conveyancing.
- Real estate development: for a notice of arrangement or enquiries about real estate.
- Network information: for information such as basic asset information (up to 5 assets) and power availability.
- Technical time with our experts: for technical enquiries such as site assessments and design analysis.
- Processed connection offer enquiries: for enquiries related to processed connection offers.
What do you need to do?
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- Select the correct category for your enquiry through Essential Connections.
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.
What is happening?
The Essential Energy Connections virtual forum was held on 6 November 2025, click here to view the supporting slide deck.
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.
You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.
What is happening?
A new version of the CEOP2015 Contestable Works Guidelines, Terms and Conditions for Contestable Works, Issue 14 dated October 2025, is now available in the Document Library. This update incorporates the release of the Level 3 ASP Authorisation Framework, as well as amendments and updates based on feedback from ASPs and internal stakeholders.
Please refer to Section 7.0 Revisions for a summary of changes, noting that the document has been reviewed in full and updated to enhance clarity and to reflect current processes.
While many suggestions have been incorporated, some recommendations from ASPs and internal reviewers could not be included in this version. These items have been logged for further exploration and any agreed-upon or approved revisions will be included in the next update.
What do you need to do?
- Download the latest version of CEOP2015 from the Document Library.
- Review the document in its entirety.
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
For further information
If you need further information, please email techconnect@essentialenergy.com.au.
You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.
What is happening?
Essential Energy’s Biannual Connections forum will be held on Thursday 6 November 2025 via Microsoft Teams. In this round, we’ll be covering a range of topics including:
- Safety
- Network defects
-
Underground standards
- Cable joint quality of workmanship
- CEOM7098 Underground Design Manual Update
-
Public light products
- Supply issues and alternatives on the Approved Materials List
- Introducing smart lighting products
- Changes to the Contestable Network Solutions team
- Update on Crown Lands
- Underground Design in NEARA
- Update on Level 3 Authorisation agreement
- Update from the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water
- Ask us anything Q&A session.
We encourage you to participate in this forum. You’ll have the opportunity to discuss our plans and initiatives, and to ask questions or raise issues with Essential Energy team members This includes time allocated for you to ask us anything.
To help us better respond to your questions on the day, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au with the topics or issues you would like addressed.
Note: this is a live session, and a recording will not be shared.
Registration
The forum will be held on Thursday 6 November 2025 from 10.00am to 1.00 pm – please click here to register.
What do you need to do?
- Click on register to reserve your spot.
- 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.
What is happening?
Our ASP Relations team will now be managing the process for reserving and sending asset labels. All enquiries in relation to asset labels should be directed to contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au.
All processes will remain unchanged in the Essential Connections Portal.
However, this transition may result in initial delays in sending out asset labels. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
For urgent requests, please contact the ASP Relations team by calling 13 23 91 and selecting Option 2 or by via email to contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au.
What do you need to do?
- Review the above and ensure all asset label enquires are sent via email to contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au.
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- View this communication via Essential Engagement.
Further Information
If you need further information, please email contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au.
You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.
What is Happening?
To minimise disruption to customers during the Christmas / New Year period, we’ll cease scheduling planned outages with a customer impact from 19 December 2025 until 4 January 2026.
Our Contestable Works office will also be closed from 19 December 2025, with business resuming as normal from 5 January 2026. During this period, minimal Essential Connections Portal cases/enquires/emails/documentation or Asset Labels will be processed.
What do you need to do?
- Review your planned interruption schedule for the dates above and work with your nominated Local Depot Switching Resource to reschedule where required.
- 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.
What is happening?
Our External Sales Team is available Monday to Friday between 7:30am and 4:00pm to help you order the materials you need for your Essential Energy projects. We aim to respond to all enquiries within two business days. Here’s how we can help:
- Need a current price list: Let us know and we’ll be happy to provide it
- Purchasing materials for approved ECN projects through External Sales: Email us at external.sales@essentialenergy.com.au and we’ll send you a quotation. Orders will be processed once an ECN project number has been provided
- Order collection and lead times: Purchase orders can be collected from our Grafton or Wagga Wagga warehouses. Current lead times are around 4 weeks from the date of order, although this may vary for direct delivery items or special orders.
- Items not on Approved Material List (AML): If you need materials that don’t appear on the current price list or AML, please reach out to us at external.sales@essentialenergy.com.au. We’ll be happy to review your request and see how we can help.
-
As a reminder: Please ensure you provide the Essential Energy items numbers you require to ensure we can provide your quote.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or would like more information.
What do you need to do?
Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
Further Information
If you need further information, please email external.sales@essentialenergy.com.au.
Safety Briefs/Alerts
Briefing – CEOM7098 issue 16 - Underground Design manual changes (382 KB) (pdf)
