SwitchedOn Australia

Tens of thousands of First Nations households across northern Australia are living with the constant threat of power cuts — some being disconnected from electricity nearly every week. Lauren Mellor from Original Power and Dr Tom Longden from Western Sydney University discuss their new report, The Right to Power – Keeping First Nations Communities on Prepayment Connected, which exposes the staggering human and systemic toll of prepaid electricity systems. They reveal how prepayment — a system often imposed without consent and designed to shift financial risk from retailers to consumers — is leaving families in the dark, often during extreme heat. They discuss the failures of retailers to protect vulnerable customers, the ‘racialised’ nature of prepayment rollouts, and the reforms needed to keep communities connected. From automatic hardship concessions to heatwave disconnection bans and community solar programs, they argue it’s time to end a two-tiered energy system that no other Australians would tolerate.

Australia’s clean energy transition is colliding with a surge of misinformation — from viral claims about whale deaths caused by off-shore wind farms to industry-backed ‘community’ campaigns designed to sow doubt about renewables. Disinformation is now pervasive and coordinated. It damages democratic debate and urgent climate action, and creates confusion and erodes support for climate change action. A Senate committee inquiry is currently looking at how these narratives spread and who’s behind them. It’s received hundreds of submissions and will hear from researchers, activists, tech platforms, etc about how misinformation shapes public attitudes and policy. Chair of the committee, Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson outlines what they’ve learnt so far, and what it will take to ensure truth and transparency are protected in Australia’s energy debate.

Australia’s electricity sector is decarbonising — but not fast enough. While the Renewable Energy Target has been doing the heavy lifting to incentivise the rollout of wind and solar, it doesn’t require fossil fuel generators to cut their emissions. For years governments have avoided putting a price on carbon, fearing it would drive up power bills. But new modelling from the Grattan Institute shows those fears are outdated — household energy costs are actually set to fall as more Australians switch from petrol and gas to electric. They argue that by extending the existing Safeguard Mechanism, which is already used to cap the emissions of large industrial polluters and the transport sector, we could accelerate the clean-energy shift without increasing household electricity bills. Alison Reeve, Program Director for Energy and Climate Change at the Grattan Institute, explains how this approach could deliver both lower bills and lower emissions.

Embedded networks — private electricity systems in apartments and housing communities — could become a cornerstone of Australia’s clean energy future, helping residents generate, store, and share renewable power. But without urgent reform, they risk trapping households in systems that serve profits rather than people, and lock consumers out of the energy transition. Reform is long overdue after a major 2017 review by the Australian Energy Market Commission was shelved. Law Quarter director and principal Connor James explains how embedded network operators currently overcharge tenants and block access to renewables. But citizen-led models like Narara Eco Village on the NSW Central Coast show what’s possible when residents control their own networks — combining solar, batteries, and smart energy management to cut costs and emissions.

The federal government’s Cheaper Home Batteries Program is being hailed as a clean energy win, cutting installation costs and driving more than a thousand new batteries into homes every day. But Reposit Power co-founder and CEO Dean Spaccavento calls it “a colossal wasted opportunity.” He says while the scheme is “excellent in its scope,” weak regulation, vague technical standards, and poor oversight mean only a tiny fraction of those batteries will ever help stabilise the grid. After more than a decade pushing to make household energy “punch at weight” with big utilities, Spaccavento argues Australia risks missing a critical moment to build a truly distributed, consumer-powered energy system.

Australia’s gas network rules are outdated — and consumers are paying the price. Energy Consumers Australia (ECA) warns that without reform, vulnerable households could be trapped in a ‘gas death spiral,’ facing ever-rising bills as others switch to electric. To fix this, the ECA wants new gas users to cover the full cost of new connections, stopping the $11 billion gas asset base from ballooning further. They’re also pushing to limit accelerated depreciation of gas infrastructure that shifts financial risks from network investors onto consumers, and to require gas networks to be more transparent and plan properly, as electricity networks already must. Finally, they want fairer, cheaper disconnection options so households can leave gas without punishing fees. Brian Spak, General Manager of Advocacy and Policy at ECA, explains how these changes could protect consumers, reduce stranded asset risks, and make the transition to clean, all-electric living more affordable.

Energy retailers are making bold claims about savings, but are they misleading, or even breaking the law? Australia’s leading consumer advocate, CHOICE, thinks so. They’ve launched their first-ever super complaint under a new framework that lets them bring serious, systemic issues directly to the ACCC. Their focus are retailers marketing so-called ‘saver’ or ‘value’ plans that actually cost more than standard offers. The ACCC has agreed to investigate whether these tactics breach consumer law. Other questionable practices, like offering the same name plan at different prices, or promoting ‘better offers’ that aren’t actually better, have been referred to upcoming regulatory reviews. Jordan Cornelius, Senior Campaigns & Policy Adviser at CHOICE, breaks down the complaint, and what’s at stake for consumers.

Earlier this month, two competing visions for the future of farming emerged on opposite sides of the country. At Gina Rinehart’s Bush Summit in Broome, renewables were cast as a threat to rural communities, while in Canberra, the inaugural Farming Forever Summit highlighted how clean energy is sustaining farm livelihoods. Fourth-generation farmer Charlie Prell knows the difference firsthand. After years of drought and falling commodity prices pushed his Crookwell property to the edge, wind turbines helped secure his farm’s future and supported his retirement. Charlie shares his story of resilience and why he sees renewables as part of farming’s survival, not its downfall. But he’s blunt about some of the renewable industry’s missteps and how rushed contracts and divisive tactics by some developers left scars that still fuel distrust and give ammunition to anti-renewables campaigns. The challenge now is to rebuild trust, ensure farmers have genuine agency, and prove that clean energy can strengthen rural communities rather than undermine them.

Golo Maurer, an ornithologist and Director of Bird Conservation Strategy at BirdLife Australia, discusses the innovative AVISTEP tool poised to transform renewable energy development in Australia. This tool uses extensive bird sighting data to predict the environmental impact of projects like wind and solar farms. Golo emphasizes the tool's potential to safeguard bird populations while promoting responsible energy expansion. He also highlights the importance of collaboration with experts to ensure that renewable infrastructure is built in ecologically safe areas.

What happens when an entire community decides to ditch gas and go electric? That’s the challenge behind Electrify 2515, Australia’s most ambitious community electrification pilot. Backed by Rewiring Australia, Brighte, Endeavour Energy, and ARENA, the project is helping 500 households in postcode 2515 swap in heat pumps, induction cooktops, and solar quickly, and at scale. 60 homes have already taken the leap, and the early lessons reveal a lot about costs, supply chains, and how people are actually living with smart energy tech. John Buchelin from Rewiring Australia, and the pilot’s operations manager outlines what’s working, what’s not, and why this bold experiment matters for households, tradies, and the future of the grid.