An electrification agenda
Australia this week signed on to a new global electrification target as a large part of the world leans into fossil fuel alternatives on the back of the war in Iran.
Jun 12, 2026•6 min•Ep. 34
The Energy Week
A weekly catchup of energy transition news from The Energy
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Episodes
A win for prosumers
There was a long-awaited win for the demand-side and energy prosumers this week with a new ‘FlexCost’ model, and a fresh call for a new state-owned entity to build and deliver renewable electricity to power Australian industry.
Jun 05, 2026•6 min•Ep. 33
Price pushes
The impact of lower wholesale energy prices was reflected in new lower default market offers released this week.
May 29, 2026•6 min•Ep. 32
Fresh firsts for renewable energy
In a week of firsts for renewable energy projects, New South Wales launched its largest ever generation tender and the Victorian government greenlit the largest windfarm in the southern hemisphere.
May 22, 2026•6 min•Ep. 31
A crisis-forward budget
Climate and energy policy measures in the budget were a mixed bag with experts lamenting many missed opportunities for reform amid the energy crisis.
May 15, 2026•6 min•Ep. 30
Budget jitters
State budgets delivered cost of living relief this week as the fuel crisis and rising interest rates bite. Meanwhile, support for renewable energy looks set to be trumped by crisis response measures in next week’s Federal Budget.
May 08, 2026•6 min•Ep. 29
Still down to poles and wires
Australia’s utility scale battery boom is helping push down wholesale energy prices, but this week showed just how much the transition still relies on transmission and distribution.
May 01, 2026•6 min•Ep. 28
Network cost crunch
Network tariffs were front and centre this week as the rule maker delivered a new model making the case for higher fixed charges, and big energy users warned transmission blowouts were already hitting the network component of their energy bills.
Apr 24, 2026•8 min•Ep. 27
Preparing for the EV wave
As Australia’s fuel crisis went from bad to worse this week in the wake of a refinery fire, state politicians stepped up their focus on electric vehicle charging to meet the coming demand wave.
Apr 17, 2026•6 min•Ep. 26
Oil redux
This week the Australian government agreed to underwrite oil purchases and Queensland set its sights on fast tracking new oil exploration projects.
Apr 10, 2026•6 min•Ep. 25
Falling gas demand amid energy crisis
News of a declining Australian gas demand was overshadowed this week by geopolitics as markets continue to brace for a global LNG supply squeeze.
Mar 27, 2026•7 min•Ep. 24
Energy prices look resilient
Oil settled above US$100 a barrel this week as combatants in the Iran war set their sights on energy infrastructure and analysts braced for long-term impacts.
Mar 20, 2026•7 min•Ep. 23
Energy crisis hits home
The global energy crisis sparked by the Iran war hit home this week in the form of a national fuel crisis that threatens to drive up interest rates and emissions.
Mar 13, 2026•6 min•Ep. 22
War energy
A week into the Middle East war, spiking oil and LNG prices have markets and governments spooked.
Mar 06, 2026•7 min•Ep. 21
R&D alarm bells
Results season continued this week and the research sector sounded the alarm on declining investment in R&D.
Feb 27, 2026•6 min•Ep. 20
Gas majors get back to the core
Results season continued this week with gas majors Santos and APA Group getting back to their core businesses.
Feb 20, 2026•6 min•Ep. 19
Gentailers ride the transition
Results season kicked off this week with AGL and Origin Energy leaning on battery revenue as the energy transition matures.
Feb 13, 2026•6 min•Ep. 18
New year cash splash
This week saw Australian governments splashing cash on long duration storage, reviving a hydrogen hub and subsidising EV loans.
Feb 06, 2026•6 min•Ep. 17
Records tumble
A fresh batch of energy market data for the December quarter sent transition optimism to new levels in what continues to be a resilient and lower-cost summer for the grid.
Jan 30, 2026•6 min•Ep. 16
Coal lifelines
A resilient summer was capped with the extension of two coal-fired power plants as state governments hedged against rising prices
Jan 23, 2026•8 min•Ep. 15
Queensland plays the sovereignty card
The end of year report dump continued this week, with a tweaked GenCost model and the NEM review getting everyone but Queensland to endorse its final recommendations.
Dec 19, 2025•6 min•Ep. 14
Transmission trimmed
Two major pieces of work landed with a thud this week in the form of the market operator’s draft integrated system plan and the rule maker’s draft pricing review.
Dec 12, 2025•6 min•Ep. 13
System security in focus
This week was all about data centres and system security. The 2025 Transition Plan for System Security from the Australian Energy Market Operator issued a warning on shortfalls in investment as the market decouples from a reliance on coal generators for system security. While the demand from data centres, while significant, might not be as bad as the numbers suggest.
Dec 05, 2025•7 min•Ep. 12
A step closer on faster approvals
This week the pre-Christmas deluge took hold with an eleventh-hour deal on environment protection laws, a rethink on the reliability standard and fresh warnings of the step-up in projects needed to meet emissions reduction goals.
Nov 28, 2025•6 min•Ep. 11
A COPitulation
This week saw a COPitulation and a call from bankers to stay the course on net zero.
Nov 21, 2025•5 min•Ep. 10
Support for net zero no longer bipartisan
Bipartisan support for net zero was fractured, and we learnt Australia’s biggest battery project might not be the shock absorber planners were expecting it to be, in a week that saw the energy wars return to the front page of major mastheads.
Nov 14, 2025•6 min•Ep. 9
'A shot across the bow of retailers'
A Melbourne Cup day announcement of free electricity during the solar peak became the front runner for energy surprise of the year as insiders warned of unintended consequences.
Nov 07, 2025•5 min•Ep. 8
David and Goliath
This week the home battery program hit new highs while grid-scale wind and solar projects reaching a final investment decision hit a new low.
Oct 31, 2025•6 min•Ep. 7
The missing piece
This week started with a landmark critical minerals deal with the US and ended with warnings the deal would fail to pay off if long awaited environmental planning reforms fail to pass parliament.
Oct 24, 2025•6 min•Ep. 6
Capturing politicians
The sluggishness of the transition hit home this week as Origin Energy flagged greater volatility than anticipated, and a new report from the World Meteorological Agency showed carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere hit a record high in 2024.
Oct 17, 2025•5 min•Ep. 5
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