Last week, as the war in Iran continued to choke global oil supplies, the UK government announced a 13% increase in the cap on energy prices. But it was another related story on the other side of the world that caught my eye.
In Australia, the energy minister announced a fall of up to 10% in the benchmark electricity price in parts of the country, driven by record levels of renewables and batteries in the power grid. Australia was already a world leader in domestic solar power. But with little fanfare, it is also pioneering a revolution in home renewables and battery usage, proving that with the right policy initiatives, profound changes can be made to the ways energy markets work.
Australia’s energy industry is definitely not above criticism – it also remains a major exporter of fossil fuels, for example. But for our cover story, Adam Morton and Petra Stock take a look at how the nation’s households have become producers and players in the market, not just consumers – and what other countries can learn from the example.
Also in this issue: Patrick Wintour asks whether the Iran war is Trump’s Vietnam moment; health editor Andrew Gregory reports on cancer breakthroughs from the world’s largest oncology conference; Oliver Franklin-Wallis reports on the people fighting back against pothole-riddled roads; Jonathan Liew argues that if you’re still on Elon Musk’s X, you should ask yourself why; and children’s illustrators talk to Stuart Heritage about the art of storytelling.
