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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?
- 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.
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- View this communication via Essential Engagement.
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.
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?
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- View this communication via Essential Engagement.
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.
Your opinion matters to us and we’d love to know how you’re finding the new Essential Connections portal. Please share your thoughts so we can continue to improve and provide the best possible experience for you.
What do you need to do?
- Please click on Essential Connections Portal Survey, this is completely anonymous and will take 2 to 4 minutes to complete.
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- View this communication via Essential Engagement.
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’s happening?
You’re invited to join in a series of Neara training sessions we’re holding over four successive Fridays:
- 3rd March 2023 from 9am – 10.30am: Introduction to Neara.
- 10th March 2023 from 9am – 10.30am: OH Design.
- 17th March 2023 from 9am – 10.30am: UG Design.
- 24th March 2023 from 9am – 10.30am: Automated Reports, Design Checks, Construction Schedule, Q&A.
You’re welcome to attend any of these sessions, which will be conducted over Zoom.
These sessions will not be covering any new material. It will be content already available in our existing resources.
Who can attend?
The sessions are open to all Level 3 designers who are:
- Interested in Neara and want to find out more.
- A new Neara user.
- An existing Neara user who’d like a refresher.
How do I sign up?
You will need to register before joining the Zoom session, either beforehand, or on the day at least five minutes before the starting time. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
- Session 1: 3rd March 09:00-10:30: Introduction to Neara: Register Here.
- Session 2: 10th March 09:00-10:30: OH Design: Register Here.
- Session 3: 17th March 09:00-10:30: UG Design: Register Here.
- Session 4: 24th March 09:00-10:30: Automated Reports, Design Checks, Construction Schedule, Q&A Register Here.
Does it cost anything to attend?
These training sessions are free of charge.
What do I need for each training session?
- Ability to use Zoom.
- We recommend using two screens – one for Zoom and one for Neara, to try things out, as we go through them.
- Neara functions best on the preferred Chrome Browser.
- Neara software. If you aren’t already a Neara user, you can download a free trial which lasts for 10 days from Neara.
What will I need in the long term if I want to use Neara and have access to Essential Energy’s network data and lidar?
Although you will not need to do the following to participate in any these four training sessions, in the long term, if you want to use Neara and our network model and Lidar data, you will need:
- A Neara licence.
- You must be registered as a Level 3a and/or Level 3b with the Department of Office and Energy Climate Change.
- To have signed up with Essential Energy’s Essential Connections portal.
- To have an Okta account with us, which is used for authentication purposes when requesting our network data. This is aligned to one email address and mobile number. Okta access happens automatically when you sign up with Essential Connections.
- To complete a form requesting our Neara network model access.
What do you need to do?
- Register for one of the above Zoom sessions.
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- View this communication via Essential Engagement.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the Digital Asset Management project at dam@essentialenergy.com.au. if you have any queries regarding this training.
You cannot leave comment in this blogpost unless you are a part of the project panel.
Essential Connections Portal Maintenance from 10:00am this Friday 10th February - 07:00am 13th February 2023.
Essential Energy will be performing maintenance on the Essential Connections portal from 10:00am Friday 10th February 2023 to 7:00am Monday 13th February 2023. During this time, applications and enquiries will not be able to be submitted. We apologise for any inconvenience.
Requesting a DIA for a Major Connection Project
With the launch of our Major Connections functionality in the Essential Connections portal a few weeks ago we have also introduced a new pathway for submitting a Design Information Application (DIA) request relating to these Major Connections projects. A DIA request requires an ECN number and an application case number, so we have created a new application type called the ‘Major Connection Contestable Works Project application’. The application takes less than 5 minutes to complete, auto-approves and has no fee attached so you can get your application case number and ECN immediately and proceed to your DIA request.
As part of the application process, we ask for you to enter the ECN number from the Major Connections process so please make sure you get this from the proponent of the Major Connection (or whoever submitted the Detailed Enquiry). The system will not let you proceed if the ECN you select isn’t related to a major connection. Additionally, a DIA can only be requested for a Major Connection when our connections planning team determine that the project has proceeded sufficiently to inform an accurate DIA request. If you try to submit this application and are unable to proceed, please check the ECN number with the connection proponent or ask them to contact their connection co-ordinator.
We have also developed a guide to help you navigate this new connection application which can be found Essential Connections Support.
Load Requirements in Application Form
We have received a few enquiries from customers around whether the ‘Required Load’ fields in our low voltage connection application forms for existing connections require the total load or only the new load required. For these fields you need to enter the total required load following the proposed connection (i.e. existing load plus new load). Our Essential Connections Support-Registered User Guide has been updated to make this requirement clearer.
User Nicknames
You would have noticed that on some of the communications sent from the Essential Energy portal your ‘name’ has been a random 20-digit number. We have recently updated the system to use your ‘first name, last name’ instead of the random number.
What do you need to do?
- Review the guide to help navigate this new application.
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- View this communication via Essential Engagement.
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.
Using List Views to Help You Manage All Your Cases in Essential Connections.
List views are used in Essential Connections to list out your cases and projects to make it easier for you to manage all your cases. There are two list views that you see on your homepage every time you log into Essential Connections – My Submitted Cases and My Projects.
Not all the columns for these list views are displayed on the Homepage – to view all the columns press the ‘View All’ button at the bottom of the list view on your Homepage. We have included a number of different bits of information, such as NMI, address and customer surname, in these list views to help you manage your jobs.
New List View in Essential Connections to Help You Manage All Cases Submitted by your Organisation.
We have now created a new list view for all users called ‘My Business Cases’. This list view will allow you to see all the cases submitted by anyone in your organisation. It includes the same information as My Submitted Cases with an additional column called Submitted by Contact to allow for visibility of all cases submitted by any employee in your business.
We have also written an article that is available on our website that steps you through how to find this new view or any of the other views available - Essential Connections Support.
What do you need to do?
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.
Important Changes to the Standard Construction Schedule.
As you are aware, Essential Energy is streamlining its customer experience and introducing the Essential Connections Portal powered by Salesforce. It will provide a seamless end-to-end connections process to deliver a great connection experience for our people, partners and customers.
What does this mean for me?
To support our updated design standards, we have created a Microsoft Excel template file to standardise design construction schedules and can be downloaded from our Essential Connections Support page. This file will become mandatory for all design submissions from the 14 January 2023.
The structure of this template is similar existing formatting requirements, with two additional columns – Status and Asset Type. Our Design Submission policy CEOM7001 will be updated to reflect this new format soon.
Standardised Construction Schedule Format.
The Status and Asset type will auto populate from the Standard Drawing Number where possible, or users can select from drop down menus.
We have also made it easy to convert the construction schedule in the template to a visually suitable format for inclusion on a construction plan with an ‘Export to Construction Plan’ button within the template.
Construction Schedule example as presented on a Construction Plan.
What if I am a Neara user?
Neara users will be able to import Neara CSV output files directly into the template where they will be automatically converted into the required format for submission.
Neara users can also use our tool to convert Neara output into a visually suitable format for construction plans.
What do I need to do?
- Submit the new Standardised Construction Schedule from 14 January 2023 as this will be mandatory for all new design submissions.
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- View this communication via Essential Engagement.
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?
Following an organisational restructure effective from 9th January 2023, Hamish Wheatley will be leading our ASP team as ASP Connections Manager, and your point of contact. He can be contacted via email: hamish.wheatley@essentialenergy.com.au.
This will allow Hamish to provide support to the ASP relationship team while we transition to a customer friendly connections process Hamish Wheatley brings both a technical background as well as experience in providing customer focused outcomes
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.
What is Happening?
ASP Forums were held via zoom in November and December 2022, we appreciate that your business is your number one priority and that you may not have been able to attend. As such, a recording of one of the sessions is available on Essential Engagement
What do you need to do?
Watch the Recording of the ASP November/December 2022 Forum.
Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
View this communication via Essential Engagement
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.
Planning Assessment Enquiry
This week we are releasing a new Planning Assessment Enquiry process which effectively replaces the old ‘feasibility DIP’ process. The Planning Assessment Enquiry process is to be used by customers where they would like a formal assessment from our planning team to identify potential network augmentation needs on a project to help inform whether the project should proceed to a formal connection application. Fees apply for this service.
For further information on this service and for information on how to apply please refer to our Planning Assessment Enquiry knowledge article on Essential Support.
Note that the Planning Assessment Enquiry does not give you a binding connection offer and you will still be required to submit a connection application if you want to proceed with the connection.
Standard Auto Approval fee change
The new Essential Connections portal has allowed for a more efficient approval process, an automated approval and offer creation. One example of this is the new Subdivision application where augmentation is known and accepted upfront.
Our existing fee structure has not accounted for this change, a new fee will be added in the next regulatory period. In the interim Essential Energy have made a decision to change the fee charged for a Standard offer where it has been auto approved, to the Connection offer service - Basic fee.
This change will be implemented in the system on 1st December, automatically. You will see the new amount in your invoice from this date.
For more information on Ancillary Network Service fees visit our website, Pricing Schedule for Ancillary Network Services.
What do you need to do?
- Review the above and make your customers aware.
- Communicate this information to relevant members of your organisation.
- View this communication via Essential Engagement.
Further Information
If you need further information, please email aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au
Neara General Information
Using Neara - Session 1 for ASPs - Introduction and Navigation (1). (5.52 MB) (pdf)