This message first appeared in our March 2026 newsletter. To stay up to date with the latest news and research on energy issues that impact consumers, sign up to receive our monthly newsletter below.
The last couple of weeks have been a reminder just how thin the veneer of energy security really is – and how quickly world economies can spiral when that security is compromised.
I’m old enough to remember queuing up for petrol during one of the great shocks in the 70s (there were ‘odds’ and ‘evens’ days depending on the last number of your licence plate). We got to the front after two hours of waiting only to be told the ‘bowsers were dry’. I still remember the look on my dad’s face; he was as worried as I’ve seen him. I saw him again last weekend, almost 50 years later, and he was out buying Jerry cans. Some might assume little has changed
But perhaps things really are different now. On a flight this week, I decided to add up all the wind turbines I could see, and soon lost count. Home batteries are being installed at previously unimaginable rates. We’ve just had our first moment when more than 50% of national grid power came from renewables.
My heart goes out to all the people in the Middle East caught in this calamitous violence. And I very much hope what I say doesn’t come across as thoroughly self-interested, but I am pleased and much relieved that Australians who invested in renewables (and all of us have, whether directly or indirectly) have helped reduce the sovereign risk of relying on others to supply the fuels that power our economy. I wonder how many families and businesses have now decided their next car will be an EV…
If we are serious about energy security, we need to be equally serious about inclusion. That means putting in place the right supports so that all households and small businesses can benefit from electrification, regardless of income or circumstance. Otherwise, we risk building a system that is more resilient for some, but more fragile for others.
Though not without a whole swathe of transition challenges, I now more fully appreciate that electrification has a whole range of other benefits I haven’t thought much about for, well, fifty years.
