About Essential Connections

Self-help resources

There are short videos and step-by-step guides for every activity and form:

Resources and links are below.

Basic Connections information & help sessions

From 14 June until late July.

You can join a session and ask questions and get help. To register for a session, see the schedule below.

Essential Energy Contact Centre

Call 132391 (General Enquiries).

Contact

aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au

Please include a screen shot and information about your error or problem.

Basic Connections video and step-by-step guides

Getting started using Essential Connections including submit a form, pay an invoice, find cases and complete actions	Video (4.14 mins) Step-by-step guide
Submit a Protection Settings Request for a Switchboard >100amps	Video (3.31 mins) Step-by-step guide
Submit a Switchboard Review Request	Video (3.37 mins) Step-by-step guide
Submit a basic Non-Standard Approval request	Video (3.05 mins) Step-by-step guide
Submit an Intent to Connect	Video (5.50 mins) Step-by-step guide
Submit an NOSW	Video with Connection Offer (4.34 mins) Video without Connection Offer (6.12 mins) Step-by-step guide with Connection Offer Step-by-step guide without Connection Offer
Submit a CCEW	Video with Connection Offer (4.19 mins) Video without Connection Offer (5.56 mins) Step-by-step guide with Connection Offer Step-by-step guide without Connection Offer
Rectify a defect	Video (5.04 mins) Step-by-step guide
Submit a CCEW or NOSW for a safety defect I have rectified	Video for CCEW (5.38 mins) Video for NOSW (5.50 mins) Step-by-step guide for CCEW Step-by-step guide for NOSW

 

• You will no longer submit the reviews and forms listed above via the Secure Web Forms Portal or email.
• Key forms such as CCEW and NoSW will need to be submitted by the authorised/ licenced installer who is supervising or testing the installation works.
• You will need to be individually registered to use the portal.

Note: there will be no change to Requests of Service Works (ROSW), Requisition for supply of FIRs.

These will continue to be managed in Secure Web Forms.

We are sending regular updates to Level 2 ASPs and Electrical Contractors about basic connections. View past Level 2 ASPs Electrical Contractors communications.

If you are not receiving the updates, please contact aspinfo@essentialenergy.com.au.

• site details
• application offer e.g. Basic & EBG (Embedded Generation)
• retail customer details
• details about the approved installation including load requested, export limit applied by Essential Energy and the model of equipment, and
• any approval conditions (e.g. Switchboard Review, basic Non Standard Approval) and whether these are completed.

There are new functions coming for basic connections in Essential Connections.

These include notifications, reminders and a collaboration function that will help you do business more easily with Essential Energy. Notifications and reminders that will be sent out by Essential Connections at different times are shown below. Please note that customers will receive some notifications too, so it will be important to enter customer details correctly.

You may also receive task notifications through Essential Connections if more information is required to complete a request. 

You can complete tasks - including document uploads - and send messages to Essential Energy - all through Essential Connections.

At go live, we will share a step-by-step guide and a demonstration video to show you how to use Essential Connections including these functions. View our support articles.

All basic connections activities are now in Essential Connections. Guides and videos are listed under Help and Resources for Basic Connections. 

For defect rectification (including safety and private asset defects):  

If your CCEW and / or NOSW was submitted in Secure Web Forms:

• Secure Web Forms Defect issued before 3 July – Please send us an email at eir.info@essentalenergy.com.au and we will advise the next steps for submitting your defect rectification notice.

• Secure web form defects issues on or after 4 July: We will provide instructions on how to submit these defects with the email you receive that includes your defect notice. Please follow the instructions.

NOTE:

For applications submitted in the old NECF portal (these projects have a 6-digit connection offer number as opposed to the ‘ECN-xxxxxx’ format connection offer in Essential Connections), please contact 13 23 91 and provide us the details of the NECF connection offer and we will advise you of your next steps.

Payment method for NOSWs and CCEWs

Those businesses currently in our Essential Connections Portal as ‘paid-in-arrears’ customers will be billed this way. This means that you will receive your NOSW and CCEW invoices by email from our ERP system several days after submission of your NOSW and/or CCEW form and these invoices will also appear on your monthly statement.

Like-for-like replacements now need a Connection Application.

Approval to connect new and upgraded electrical installations greater than 100 Amps is dependent on provision of main switchboard information as set out in the Service and Installation Rules of NSW (Section 4, 4.15 LV Services > 100 amps).

The switchboard review process involves two steps:

1. Protection Settings Request for Switchboards to be used in the design of the switchboard; and then

2. Request for a Switchboard Review

From 19 June 2023, both of these steps will be undertaken in the Essential Connections portal by a registered user.

You will not be able to submit a protection settings request unless you have an approved connection offer. In addition, you will not be able to submit a CCEW and/ or NOSW until the Protections Settings Request and Switchboard Review are completed/ approved.

If you need to get Protection Settings for a Switchboard >100amps.

• Submit a Protection Settings Request for Switchboards via the Essential Connections Portal (button on ‘Level 2 ASP and EC works’ landing page)

o You will need the ECN (Essential Connections Number) and Application case number.

o If you did not submit the application, please ask your customer for those details.

o For applications submitted in the old NECF portal, please contact 13 23 91 and ask for your reference numbers so you can submit the Protection Setting Request

If you need to submit a Switchboard Review Request.

• Submit a Switchboard Review Request via the Essential Connections Portal (button on ‘Level 2 ASP and EC works’ landing page)

• You need approved Protections Settings before you can submit a Switchboard Review Request. You will need the ECN and Protection Setting Case Number to submit this form.

• All Switchboard review requests that have been submitted via email before 19 June will be processed by email. No new submissions will be accepted in the mailbox from 19 June

Like-for like switchboard replacements >100amps now need a connection application.

This requirement aims to resolve confusion around this topic. For example, in the past some contractors / ASPs requesting switchboard reviews have found that they need to submit a connection application before they can have their switchboard reviewed due to the potential impacts of changes to electrical protection or earthing even where there is no load change.

To ensure all >100amp switchboard replacements are properly assessed as to their potential impact on our network, we will be requiring a connection application for all replacement switchboards over 100amps. This change will come into immediate effect.

A non-standard approval (NSA) is required 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).

From 19 June 2023, basic NSAs will be done in the Essential Connections portal. Previously they were managed via email or phone. This will ensure a more consistent, timely response and visibility of all requests. Essential Energy will respond to a NSA within 15 business days.

We are introducing a fee for basic NSAs. Under the Regulatory Framework, Essential Energy is obliged to recover costs we incur during the connections process from the customers requiring the service – this includes the costs of assessing non-standard approval requests. We have been charging Level 3 ASPs this fee for several years and we are now extending this fee to cover L2 ASP and electrical contractor requests.

The non-standard design approval fee is an hourly rate. On average it takes approximately 30 mins to process a basic connection non-standard approval request. The fee has been approved by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) following a thorough assessment of the costs involved in performing such services.

If you are planning works that vary from design and construction standards and the rules, you need to submit a basic Non-Standard Approval Request.

• Submit a Non-Standard Approval Request via the Essential Connections Portal (button on ‘Level 2 ASP and EC works’ landing page)

• You will need the Application reference numbers to submit the Non-Standard Approval (NSA). If you did not submit the application, please ask the customer for those details (Application number and ECN).

• For applications submitted in the old NECF portal, please contact 132391 and ask for your reference numbers so you can submit the ITC.

• If your standard construction project is not being managed via the 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 (button on the ‘Level 3 and 1 ASP works’ landing page).
• Please keep an eye on information updates - we are planning to bring all NoA into Essential Connections Portal soon.