Is Nuclear Power the solution to Australia’s Energy Transition?

The debate around whether nuclear power should be part of Australia’s future energy mix is again on the federal political agenda. This note looks at the arguments for and against the use of nuclear power in Australia and assesses whether nuclear power is a realistic solution to the requirements of Australia’s energy transition. Read more

What does the “Closing the Loopholes” Bill mean for energy businesses?

On Monday 4 September 2023, the Federal Government tabled in the House of Representatives its latest raft of industrial relations reforms through the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Bill 2023 (Cth). This Bill is significant, running to 278 pages and covering 28 distinct parts. It proposes reforms that will have a substantial impact on … Read more

HIGH PROFILE CYBERATTACKS INCREASE EMPHASIS UPON CYBER RESILIENCE IN SOUTH AFRICA’S ENERGY SECTOR

CYBERATTACKS ON ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE IN SOUTH AFRICA On Thursday the 25th of July 2019, the City of Johannesburg’s electricity service provider, City Power, suffered a ransomware attack which encrypted its databases, applications and network. The attack disabled the utility’s website and prevented its customers from being able to purchase electricity from the utility which potentially … Read more

Update: Commonwealth Electricity Capacity Investment Scheme

Since Herbert Smith Freehills’ last update on the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) in July, the Commonwealth Government has released a Public Consultation Paper (Consultation Paper) for the proposed approach and design of the CIS. Our previous article noted several potential eligibility criteria, as well as detailed the recently announced partnership between the NSW Government and … Read more

Safeguard Mechanism Bill passes Parliament setting stage for Safeguard Mechanism reforms

The Safeguard Mechanism (Crediting) Amendment Bill 2023 was passed by the Australian Parliament on 30 March 2023.  The Bill was primarily introduced to enable the crediting element of the reform, however the changes negotiated with the Australian Greens Party are not limited to crediting and will extend beyond amendments to the Bill itself. We explore key aspects … Read more