Level 3 ASPs

What is Happening?

Following an organisational restructure effective from 1 November 2021, David Wilson will be returning to our ASP team as Manager Distribution Connections, and your point of contact. He can be contacted via email: david.wilson@essentialenergy.com.au.

Hamish Wheatley has moved from ASP Connections and Quality and is now our Public Lighting and Unmetered Supply Manager.

What do you need to do?

1. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
2. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

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

What is Happening?

To minimise the disruption to customers during the Christmas / New Year period, no planned interruptions with a customer impact will be scheduled from 20 December 2021 to 6 January 2022.  

Also Contestable Works will be closed during the same period with business resuming as normal from 4 January 2022. 

Minimal processing of emails/documentation or Asset Labels will occur from Contestable Works mailbox during the above mentioned period.

What do you need to do?

1. Review your planned interruption schedule for the dates above and work with your nominated Local Depot Switching Resource to reschedule where required.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

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

What is happening?

To protect everyone’s health and safety, we’ll hold our next round of ASP engagement forums via Zoom, rather than face to face.

In this round, we’ll be covering a range of topics including safety, our BetterConnect project, Encroachments, Network GIS access, Design and Certification updates, Service Installation Review, Standards, and the Neara design tool.

We encourage you to participate in these forums. You’ll have the opportunity to discuss our plans and initiatives, and to ask questions or raise issues with Essential Energy team members.

Dates and times

Click on one of the options below to reserve your preferred session (all sessions will have the same content).

• Session 1: Tuesday, 23 November 2021 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm
• Session 2: Thursday, 25 November 2021 from 11:00am to 1:00pm
• Session 3: Wednesday, 1 December 2021 from 09:00am to 11:00am

A confirmation email will be sent to you with the Zoom meeting details once you have registered.

What do you need to do?

1. Select the session date above and reserve your spot to attend one of our forums.
2. 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 is providing Level 3 Accredited Service Providers the opportunity to attend refresher training on the design tool Neara.

Training sessions on a range of topics have been scheduled over a period of four (4) weeks, from 12 November 2021 to 3 December 2021. All sessions are optional and you are welcome to attend one or all of them.

• Session 1: 12 November 2021 – Neara access, navigation, properties, libraries, environments
• Session 2: 19 November 2021 – Overhead Design, design tools, clearances, crossings and reporting
• Session 3: 26 November 2021 – Underground design, calcs and reporting
• Session 4: 3 December 2021 – Overhead Design automated checks, construction schedule and Q&As.

To register, click on the link for each session you would like to attend. A confirmation email will be sent to you with Zoom meeting details.

Training Dates

• Friday 12 November 2021 10.00am – 11.30am,
• Friday 19 November 2021 10.00am – 11.30am,
• Friday 26 November 2021 10.00am – 11.30am,
• Friday 3 December 2021 10.00am – 11.30am

Once completed, training session recordings will be made available on Essential Engagement for future reference.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the Neara refresher training session dates and times above and reserve your spot to attend a training session
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation
3. View this communication via Essential Engagement and obtain/review all the training materials prior to the session.

Further Information

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

What is Happening?

As a Distribution Network Service Provider (DNSP), Essential Energy is required to operate a certified Asset Management System to ISO 55001 requirements.

A key component of certification is our Asset Management Policy Statement, which underpins our Asset Management System. This Statement:

• describe the principles that shape our approach to asset management, and
• represent our commitment to achieving the best outcomes from all of our assets.

What do you need to do?

1. Review CECP1004 – Asset Management Policy Statement located on our Document Library.
2. Note where the policy may apply to the work you do as part of the Asset Management System.
3. 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?

The Electrical Safety Rules CEOP8030 provide an unambiguous and uniform set of safe work requirements (rules) to all persons - employees, Accredited Service Providers (ASPs) and Contract Service Providers (CSPs) working on or near the Essential Energy electricity network.

The Electrical Safety Rules (ESR’s) are revised from time-to-time to reflect the outcomes of incident investigations, audits, safety briefs, policy and procedure updates, organisational changes and industry developments - including new technologies.

The Electrical Safety Office (ESO) has completed a significant review and update of CEOP8030 Electrical Safety Rules that is now published on the Document Library as Issue 18.

There are no major policy or procedural changes in this update, but there are numerous minor changes and additions. All changes are summarised in the Revisions section at the end of the document and a yellow highlighted copy is available on Workplace, from the ESO or from your local Network Assurance Officer (NAF).

What do you need to do?

1. Download and review Safety Brief – SB-992_ASP CEOP8030 Electrical Safety Rules Issue 18 located on the Document Library and Essential Engagement.
2. 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?

The Electrical Safety Office has recently Undertaken a review of CEOP8050 Working Above, Below or Adjacent to Energised Conductors.

This policy has been provided to ASPs as an awareness and can be used to review and consider as part of your own safety system.

The updated CEOP8050 – Working Above, Below or Adjacent to Energised Conductors is available within the Document Library.

What do you need to do?

1. Download and review Safety Brief SB-991 CEOP8050 Working above, below or adjacent to energised conductors update located on the Document Library and Essential Engagement.
2. 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?

We’ve made some changes to Neara to improve Digital Asset Management capability and your user experience. Key highlights include:

• ability for you to automatically load Essential Energy’s Underground Network (cables, pillars, pad mount, substations etc) when you access our Neara network automodel.
• access to the Cloud design feature, with the latest Neara functionality.
• access to our training videos from the recent Underground module training sessions (held in June) on Essential Engagement.

Further improvements are on the way, including completion of the Underground development for LV drop and cable pulling calculations. We’ll let you know when they go live.

A general reminder for all designs: Please make sure you include the .power files as part of your design submission in Salesforce. This will avoid unnecessary delays in processing your request by the Design and Certification Team, as well as improve communication, design capability and reduce rework for everyone.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the updates on Neara via engage.essentialenergy.com.au/level3asp.
2. 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 has formed a new, dedicated Connection Planning team to undertake technical assessment of low voltage connections applications. This will ensure we deliver consistent application of our Connection Policy requirements and improved technical support.

Key Connection Policy requirements

Essential Energy’s Connection Policy CEOP2513.06 is the determining document for capital contributions. It details the Urban and Rural thresholds for customer-funded and Essential Energy contributions for low voltage connections to our network.

In all cases, customers are responsible for funding connections requiring a dedicated high or low voltage network extension.

Essential Energy will only fund augmentation to the existing shared network where a low voltage connection is below the Urban or Rural thresholds described in CEOP2513.06.

Connection applicants, electrical contractors, Accredited Service Providers and consultants acting on behalf of connection applicants should make themselves familiar with the funding arrangements within the Policy.

The Connection Policy can be accessed from the Essential Energy's website by all customers connecting to the Essential Energy network.

What do you need to do?

1. Review Essential Energy Connection Policy CEOP2513.06 located on Essential Energy’s website.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

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

A reminder that customer service is a shared responsibility

To help clarify any confusion around an ASPs customer service responsibilities when a network outage is requested, please note the following:

Essential Energy notifies all premises affected by an ASP requested outage on the ASPs behalf and manages enquiries raised by outage-impacted customers.

If Essential Energy is unable to resolve customer concerns, we pass them on to the ASP requesting the outage to manage and resolve.

ASPs are responsible for discussing or providing alternative options for customers, and for ensuring concerns are resolved promptly to avoid outage delays.

To ensure the network outage can proceed, you need to provide evidence to your Network Assurance Facilitator that customer concerns have been satisfactorily addressed.

Note 3 on the CEOF6013 Planned Outage, Connection or Live LV request form provides additional clarification.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the above communication and associated reference material on form CEOF6013 located on the Document Library.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation and your customers.

Further Information

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