Level 3 ASPs

At our recent forums we shared that we will be publishing a sub-division connection model standing offer, approved by the Australian Energy Regulator, on 1 July 2023.

A Zoom session will be run on 27 June 2023 from 11.00am – 1.45pm for ASPs and Developers to familiarise our customers with the new Model Standing Offer and consider feedback regarding implementation.

If you would like to attend this optional session, please click Register Here enter your details, and add the invite to your calendar.

Prior to 1 July 2023 you can find a copy of the sub-division model standing offer on Essential Engagement.

On 1 July 2023 you can find a copy in our website Connection offers and Contracts.

Benefits of the new sub-division connection model standing offer.

• Delivering time efficiencies and cost savings by reducing the requirement for a developer to negotiate their connection with Essential Energy
• Providing developers with explicit, detailed information about the roles and responsibilities of all parties in the contestable connections process, including developers, Accredited Service Providers and Essential Energy
• Supporting consistent and transparent application of network design and construction standards and Essential Energy’s CEOP2015 Terms and Conditions for Contestable Works
• Providing a clear summary of the key steps and requirements for each phase of a standard connection project or undertaking
• Incorporating a Deed Poll - Transfer of Gifted Assets that clearly outlines the terms of engagement between the developer and Essential Energy in electrical asset design, construction and gifting to become Essential Energy distribution network assets on completion of works.

What do you need to do?

1. Register your details to attend the information session.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
3. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

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

At our recent forums, you asked for a session on what is changing in version 9 of CEOP2015 – Contestable Works Guidelines, due to be published on 1 July 2023.

We’re offering an optional session on 22 June 2023 from 10.30am – 12.00 noon.

If you would like to attend, you can click below to register, enter your details and add the invitation to your calendar:

Register Here

What do you need to do?

1. Click on ‘Register now’ and add your details to attend the information session.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
3. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

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

What is Happening?

In preparation for basic connections coming into Essential Connections from 19 June 2023, there will be the following system outages:

1. 5 pm Thursday 15 June 2023 to 7am Friday 16 June 2023.
2. 5 pm Friday 16 June 2023 to 7am Monday 19 June 2023.

Essential Connections will not be available during these outage times.

Good news!

• Essential Connections portal passwords will now last 1 year/ 365 days before needing to be changed.
• You will receive a reminder 5 days before your password expires.
• This change is effective immediately and the 365 days applies from your last password change.

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, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

The go live date for basic connections coming into Essential Connections is 19 June 2023.

To encourage you to quickly switch across, there will be no fees for CCEWs and NOSWs submitted in Essential Connections from 19 June to 3 July. (Don’t forget, you need to submit the Intent to Connect first).

Secure Web Forms will be closed from 4 July for CCEW & NOSW submissions.

• Previous forms will still be accessible.
• Request for Service Work (ROSW) and Requisition for supply of Frequency Injection Relays (FIRs) will continue to be submitted through Secure Web Forms.

CCEWs and NOSWs will need to be submitted by the authorised/ licenced installer who tested the installation works.

You will need to be individually registered to use the portal.

• Please activate your account if you received a Welcome email from OKTA, Essential Energy’s security platform.
• Please go to Essential Connections Registration and register if you are a new user.

Intent to Connect is new. It’s the bridge between approved applications and service and/or electrical works. It will be submitted by the authorised Level 2 ASP or licenced Electrical Contractor doing the works.

Please note that customers will receive some notifications from now on so it will be important to enter customer details correctly.

Protection Settings Requests and Request for a Switchboard Review >100amps will be done in Essential Connections.

Non-standard approvals (where you seek to vary from our construction standards, the Australian / New Zealand wiring rules (AS/NZ 3000) and the NSW Service and Installation rules (SIRs)) will be submitted in Essential Connections. A fee, approved under the Regulatory Framework, will apply to non-standard approvals from 19 June 2023.

Need help? Here’s what’s available.

Self-help resources:

We will share all the links next week.

• Short videos for every activity/ form.
• Step-by-step guides.

Drop-in sessions.

We will hold information and help sessions from 13 June until late July, at 7:30am, 12 noon and 5pm. You can join a session and ask questions and get help. We will share the schedule for this next week.

Essential Energy Contact Centre.

• Call 13 23 91 (General Enquiries).
• Contact aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

Payment options.

• If your business does L1 and L3 works on the Essential Energy network your current invoices for your L1 and L3 works is charged to your 30-day account.
• For your business, when we go live on 19 June with Drop 4, your invoices for NOSW and CCEW will also be charged to your 30-day account. You will no longer pay for these invoices up front. This also means that the invoice won’t be created in Essential Connections but will be emailed to you from our finance system just like happens for your L1 and L3 works.

What do you need to do?

1. Re-read previous information to ensure you’re as ready as possible.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
3. View this and past communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

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

The go live date for basic connections coming into Essential Connections Portal is 19 June, pending no technical challenges. Included in this Go Live is Notice of Arrangements.

What are you doing?

I need a Notice of Arrangement.

• If a standard construction project is not being managed via Essential Connections Portal, please submit the Notice of Arrangement (NoA) request via the contestable works mailbox: contestableworks@essentialenergy.com.au.
• For all other NoA requests please submit via the Essential Connections Portal.
• Please keep an eye on information updates – we are planning to bring all NoA into Essential Connections Portal soon.
  

What do you need to do?

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

Further Information

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

What is happening?

The AER has approved Essential Energy’s new regulatory charges for Ancillary Network Services from 1 July 2023.

As an Accredited Service Provider (ASP), Authorised Person (AUP) or Electrical Contractor (EC), please use the new charges applicable to the services you provide when preparing quotations for work to be undertaken after 30 June 2023.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the 2023-24 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
4. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further information

If you need further information, 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, Earthing, how to use the Network Information Portal, as well as updates from Contestable Design and Planning, BetterConnect, Essential Connections and Neara.

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.

Tuesday 23rd May 2023 9:00am – 11:00am Register Here

Tuesday 23rd May 2023 5:00pm – 7.00pm Register Here

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

What do you need to do?

1. Select the session time above that suits you and reserve your spot.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
3. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

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

Background

In response to feedback from ASPs, the information below clarifies the difference between two of the Excel spreadsheets currently in use:

Standardised Construction Schedule Template

Neara Construction and Conductor Conversion file

What do you need to know?

Our Standardised Format Template:

• must be used when submitting any project for certification.
• enables integration with Salesforce and populates Salesforce data entry forms which you would otherwise need to enter manually, ensuring that the correct format and data is used.
• can be used by both Neara users and non-Neara users.

For Neara users, the overhead conductor tab in this spreadsheet can be automatically generated by importing a csv file which has been exported from the Neara Essential Energy Overhead Construction Schedule.

Please note that this spreadsheet cannot import Essential Energy’s Overhead Conductor Schedule – this data needs to be entered manually.

Underground data also needs to be entered manually in this spreadsheet.

Our Neara Designer Conversion file (provided in recent Neara refresher training for Level 3 ASPs):

• can be optionally used to generate an Overhead Construction table and Overhead Conductor table into formats suitable for use in design drawings.
• can be exported as a csv file from the Neara Essential Energy Overhead Construction Schedule and imported into the Excel file, with built-in macros automating the format.
• can also be exported as a csv file from Essential Energy’s Overhead Conductor Schedule within Neara and imported into the Excel file, with built-in macros automating the format.

We realise this is not ideal and are planning to consolidate this in to one spreadsheet in the very near future. We’re also working with Neara to see if a suitable direct export can be introduced.

If you have any questions about this, please don’t hesitate to contact our Digital Asset Management project team via dam@essentialenergy.com.au.

What is Happening?

There is a saying – “A picture tells a thousand words” When a Design and Certification Officer is reviewing design submissions, a photo can help identify construction constraints or issues with a design that Essential Energy may be aware of. Identifying these issues during certification stage can avoid the need to re-certify a plan during construction.

It is now mandatory for designers to upload site photos to Essential Connections as part of the design submission case. The photos can be uploaded using the file upload function in Essential Connections Portal on the design submission case. Please upload to the “1. Plans, Environmental, DBYD and Safety” section of the case. A zip folder is acceptable to upload.

What photos do we want to see?

Ideally, we would like to see photos of the following:

• The connection point to existing assets, open points etc.
• New asset locations or the pegged locations – showing the surrounding area.
• Site restrictions – like batters or drains, CBD locations, footpaths, proximity to roads or structures.
• Road crossing.
• Stays and any new stay locations.
• Operational sites – Gas Switch, Pole Substation, Padmount easement.
• Vegetation along a route, environmental hazards.
• Any hazards identified in the Designer Safety Report (unless they are already included in report).

Tips

• Photos should be time stamped and the file named appropriately – check the settings on your camera/phone.
• For large reconductoring projects, we will not need all pole top photos, just key locations.
• Taking photos of poles in a sequence can help – e.g., pole number, overall pole view, pole top, the to and from spans etc.
• Add all photos in a Zip file to make it easy to upload.
• Google Streetview screenshots are not permitted as site photos.

What do you need to do?

1. Review the above and start uploading photos – To allow for inflight projects there will be a grace period up until the 17 of April 2023. Not required for re-certification submissions.
2. Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
3. View this communication via Essential Engagement.

Further Information

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

Changes to the Low Voltage Connections External User Guide.

We have made a change to the structure of the external user guide for low voltage connections. The enquiry, application and design processes were all contained within one large guide.

However, based on your feedback, we have now split these guides to provide a process focus so that customers can find the process specific information they are after rather than having to go through a large guide. We have also created a number of videos for the design related processes and linked them to the new guides. All guides can be found on the support page on our website:Essential Connections Support.

The new guides are:

• Connection Enquiry.
• Connection Application.
• Design Information Application – with videos for the DIA process, how to collaborate with the design team and what to do when a case is moved to Pending Requestor.
• Design Certification - with videos for the design certification process and recertification process, how to collaborate with the design team and what to do when a case is moved to Pending Requestor.
• Non-Standard Approvals.
• Easements.
• Asset Labels.

Essential Connections Invoice Reference Number (EEI-xxxxxxxxxxxxxx).

Customers that are paying for an invoice out of Essential Connections have experienced an issue with not having the ability to copy and paste the invoice reference number from the body of the email. As a result, we have now amended the automated email that goes out with the invoice to include the EEI reference number which can be copied and pasted into the portal.

Searching for an ECN Number when you are not the owner of the application case.

Earlier this year several customers that were not the owner of the application case, when they tried to search in Essential Connections using the ECN nothing was returned in the search. We have made an update to the system that now resolves this issue, and anyone can search using the ECN number (note, the search will only return cases that your business owns under that ECN).

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, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.