Level 1 ASPs

Essential Energy are experiencing an influx of Design and Certification requests, which have resulted in a backlog.

We are putting plans in place to address the backlog and process your requests as soon as possible.

In the meantime, there will be a slight delay in processing Design and Certification requests. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Further Information

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

What is happening

Last week one of Essential Energy’s mailing lists was targeted by a phishing email with a PDF link that was malware. We would like to remind our ASP partners to be vigilant for these emails and maintain your cyber security.

A phishing email is a fraudulent attempt to obtain your sensitive information by a sender disguising themselves as a trustworthy entity.

If you receive a phishing email please take the following actions:

• Delete the email
• Do not open it and do not click on any links
• If you click on a suspicious link, we recommend you change all your passwords
• Do not forward the email

Further Information

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

When you have a bushfire affected customer who needs to be connected to the Essential Energy Network you will need to fill in a new connection application in all cases where rebuilding is required.

The connection application should be submitted with the NMI attached to the site prior to the fires – regardless of the current status of the NMI – if the customer can’t locate their bill they can contact Essential Energy’s contact centre on 13 23 91 or their retailer will be able to help.

If the NMI has been made Extinct, then Essential Energy will contact the ASP or customer to advise they will need to establish an account with a Retailer and a new NMI will be required.

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?

Essential Energy will be launching our Level 1 ASP Authorisation Agreement on 5 February 2020.

From 1 September 2020, Level 1 ASP companies or entities will be required to enter a Level 1 ASP Authorisation Agreement with Essential Energy to continue to undertake and / or facilitate contestable works on or near our electricity distribution network.

The Contract and a Fact Sheet are available on the Document Library, to help you understand the purpose of the Agreement and how to apply.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the fact sheet and agreement available on the Document Library
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation

Further Information

We will be providing a video in the coming weeks with further information on our Authorisation Agreement and sending you an invitation with more information and to start the authorisation process.

If you need further information or would like to ask a question, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 6^th to 12^th 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