Level 3 ASPs

As you are aware the new BetterConnect portal for level 3 ASPs went live on the 25 May 2020. We appreciate it takes time to get use to a new system and have extended the validity of active Design Information Packs (DIP) which are due to expire prior to COB 12 June 2020 by an additional 4 weeks.

If you have a project with a DIP that falls into this category, please submit a Design Submission to contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au prior to COB 10 July 2020. After this date, any expired DIP will require a new Design Information Application to be submitted via the BetterConnect Portal, as no DIPs will be reissued via the contestable works email address.

If you have a DIP that expired before 25 May 2020 you will need to reapply via the BetterConnect portal.

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?

From 1 July 2019, the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) introduced new regulatory charges for Ancillary Network Services. As an Accredited Service Provider (ASP), Authorised Person (AUP) or Electrical Contractor (EC), you would be aware of the current Ancillary Network Services charges applicable to services you provide to your customers.

The AER has approved the new regulatory charges for Essential Energy’s Ancillary Network Services to be implemented from 1 July 2020.

You can read more about Essential Energy’s pricing for Ancillary Network on our website at: Essential Energy > Our Network > Network Pricing and Regulatory Reporting > Network Pricing.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the 2020-21 Pricing Schedules for Ancillary Network Services available on the Essential Energy website
2. Accredited Service Providers, Authorised Persons and Electrical Contractors should consider pricing changes when preparing quotations for customers regarding future work
3. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation

Further Information

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

To assist Essential Energy in ensuring that all work completed and commissioned in the 2019-20 financial year is correctly recorded and closed in our systems, we are asking you, where practical, to please send us all the required paperwork.

We are also requesting that you submit a schedule to rectify all outstanding non-conformances prior to 1 July 2020. If you are unsure of your current outstanding non-conformance status, please contact your local NAF or SNAF (Network Assurance Facilitator).

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, or alternatively contact your local NAF or SNAF.

What is happening?

Essential Energy is committed to providing customers who wish to install low-voltage embedded generation access to the network where it does not compromise quality, safety and reliability of supply to other network users.

To facilitate this, we have revised our assessment criteria for connection of embedded generators to the low-voltage network.

Effective Monday 15 June 2020 our revised criteria requires that voltage rise on Service Mains is maintained within 1% (in accordance with clauses '1.12.3.4' & '8.6.13' of the NSW Service Installation Rules). This will enable Essential Energy to maintain voltage at the point of connection at 253V.

Exemptions

Application of exemption clause '8.6.13.1' will not be accepted when it results in an increase of voltage on the Service Mains greater than 1%. We will consider exemption where combined voltage in the Consumer Mains and Sub Mains is limited to 2% (as per clause '3.3.3' of AS/NZS4777.1-2016).

Alternative compliance mechanisms may include applicants proposing Service Mains augmentation or imposing export limits to their generator systems in order to maintain the voltage rise within the Service Mains to 1% (as per clause '8.6.3' of the NSW Service Installation Rules, and noting that export limits will not impose a limit on the capacity of generator systems for self-consumption).

At this time, the standing automatic approval for energy export of 5kW per connection point for urban, and 3kW per connection point for rural customers remains in place.

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.

The BetterConnect Portal successfully went live at 8.00 am on Monday 25 May 2020.

From now on, all Level 3 ASPs (and their nominated employees) will be able to submit requests for the following core contestable Design processes through the new portal:

• Design information Requests
• Notice of Arrangement Only Requests
• Asset Labels Requests
• Design Certification Pack Requests
• Easements Only Requests

This automation will deliver a more streamlined and efficient process, with faster turn around times, seamless collaboration with Essential Energy Design and Certification staff, and greater transparency of the status of all your cases.

Support

We are ready to support you if you have any issues, and there are also some great reference materials available on Essential Engagement for you and your teams to use.

We will be available via Zoom to answer your questions between 11.00 am to 12 noon on Wednesday and Friday this week. You can join one of these sessions using the meeting login and password that have been emailed to you.

A reminder we also have our information sessions this Tuesday and Thursday at 10.00 am if you would like to join us.

The portal has a comments field built into it for use as your first point of call. This feature allows all information to be stored in one place which can be accessed easily at any time. It also means that you are not relying on a single resource at our end to keep your project moving.

If you are having issues and are not able to log into the portal, please send an email outlining your issue, including screenshots of error messages, to betterconnect.project@essentialenergy.com.au

The live portal is a new tool for Essential Energy staff as well, so we will all be learning new ways of working together.

Background

Following the initial feedback we received from ASPs and internal stakeholders, Essential Energy has significantly amended CEOP2015 General Terms and Conditions for Contestable Works.

The document has been renamed CEOP2015 Contestable Work Guidelines and the revised version and a content variation document are available on the Document Library .

Seeking Feedback

We are now seeking your further input to ensure that the updated document is easy to use and has the information you require to undertake contestable work on or near our network. A review and feedback form are available in the information folder on Essential Engagement.

Please review the updated document and send your suggestions and feedback to aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au by 31 August 2020. This information will then be reviewed and, where practical, incorporated into the next version.

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

Background

The NSW Service and Installation Rules stipulate that low voltage connections greater than 100 Amps must be reviewed by the electricity distributor.

To facilitate compliance and ensure consistency, Essential Energy is centralising our review process.

What is changing?

From today, all connection applications for low voltage customer switchboards with ratings of more than 100 Amps per phase (new/modified and with or without CT metering) are to be submitted with a proposed load, single line diagram and power factor correction details (if applicable), and a completed “Switch Board Compliance Statement”, CEOF7819 can be found on the Document Library.

All requests must be submitted via switchboard.review@essentialenergy.com.au, using the standard naming convention – Address_Customer Name_Submitting Company Name_Submission Version (Example - 2 Southern Cross Dr Ballina_ Marelex_V1).

Following receipt of your submission, Essential Energy will assess the documentation and respond as ‘appears compliant’ or if non-compliant, as ‘rejected’.

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

As part of Essential Energy’s commitment to continuous improvement, we are seeking feedback from our customers and business partners about how easy we are to do business with.

Feedback received from ASPs and Electrical Contractors to date has assisted us in ensuring that the capabilities and quality of our products and services are meeting your expectations now and into the future.

Over the next few weeks, a representative from Woolcott Research & Engagement may contact you to participate in a survey that will assess your satisfaction with our service delivery and operational performance. Your input is needed to help Essential Energy optimise customer outcomes and ensure our operations are aligned to your needs.

Further Information

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

As part of its continuous improvement program, Essential Energy is introducing new file format and naming standards for Level 3 ASPs. These new standards will improve the user experience and support future projects across the business by providing a consistent approach and making documents easily identifiable for users.

From 11 May 2020, when submitting documents to Essential Energy for Contestable Works projects, you will need to ensure they comply with the new standard as outlined in the Briefing document located on the Document Library and Essential Engagement.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the Briefing document ‘20200508 - Level 3 ASP Document Naming Standards’ located on the Document Library.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.

Further Information

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

The new BetterConnect portal is going live on 25 May 2020.

As you know, we have been working on a new portal called BetterConnect. This is part of Essential Energy’s ongoing continuous improvement initiatives which aim to make processes for our customers more efficient, and make it easier to do business with us.

All Level 3 ASPs and their nominated employees will be required to use the portal from 25 May 2020, including the new enquiries channel.

Benefits

The new portal has been developed in collaboration with a Reference Group of 12 Level 3 ASPs working closely with us since the inception of the project. It focuses on more efficient interactions between L3 ASPs and Essential Energy, which in this instance means:

• No more email interactions for submissions and project creations
• Full electronic submission and online forms for:
  • Design Information requests
  • Asset Label requests
  • Notice of Arrangement Only requests
  • Design Submission Requests
  • Easements Only Requests
  • Enquiries (General, Design and Closed Project Enquires)
• Instant visibility to Essential Energy when an enquiry or case has been submitted
• Real time visibility to Level 3 ASPS of the current status of their projects.

Please remember, we are working towards automating the end-to-end connections process, and this is just the first step.

It’s your tool – so have your say

In recent weeks, our Reference Group has been using the portal in a testing environment. This allows them to provide feedback on the functionality so we can continue to improve it.

Of course, continuous improvement means that we will keep looking at ways to make things easier and more efficient for all of us, so your feedback is encouraged. This tool is currently a minimum viable product, which means we will continue to develop and make improvements to it– so please, don’t hesitate to send in your feedback and suggestions.

Support for you

Our people are ready to support you if you have any issues.

The portal has a comments field built into it, and we ask you to use this as your first point of call. This allows all the information to be stored in one place and can be accessed readily throughout your project. It also means you are not relying on a single resource on our end to keep your project moving along.

The live portal will be a new tool for Essential Energy staff as well, so will be learning new ways of working together.

We’d like to thank everyone who has worked with us to get this project live for their invaluable assistance and also to those who have provided their details for access to the portal. If you haven’t done this already, please contact betterconnect.project@essentialenergy.com.au for more information.

We look forward to continuing to work with our customers on further improvements which will benefit both you, and us.