The Victorian government is demanding the operator of Australia's main electricity grid explain how the state came close to losing electricity during the recent extreme heatwave to ensure NSW avoided power outages, adding to calls for a wider inquiry.

A new wave of solar energy is about to crest and it won't just be households benefiting.

• COMMENT

I'll give it to you cold. Electricity prices are going up.

• EXCLUSIVE

Ballarat and Bendigo faced losing electricity during the recent great eastern Australian heatwave so NSW could avoid power cuts, underscoring the parlous state of the country's grid.

Woodside has outlined an ambitious plan which could see undeveloped offshore gas handled at its onshore facilities as it promotes a "Burrup Hub" in the remote north west of the country

The rebound in oil - and gas - prices helped to propel Woodside Energy's earnings sharply higher in 2016 as it looks to higher output in the year ahead to maintain the growth momentum.

Environmental groups want more time to consider the impacts of Santos' Narrabri CSG project that will include as many as 850 wells, producing more than 100 tonnes of waste salt alone per day.

Oil importer, refiner and marketer Caltex has benefited from the continued swing towards premium fuel purchases, which has helped offset a decline in refiner margins and adverse currency swings over the past 12 months.

• COMMENT

There is no excuse for any employer to underpay or exploit their employees.

Caltex Australia has been fined $400,000 and ordered to pay court costs for an uncontrolled fuel discharge at its Port Botany terminal.

BlueScope has warned Australia faces heavy job losses unless there is an overhaul of the country's energy policy.

After years of failed promises, Victoria is on the cusp of getting its first large-scale solar power stations.

Rising oil prices and cost cutting helped limit the rising tide of red ink at Santos, following heavy write-offs

OPEC could extend its oil output pact with non-members or cut deeper if global inventories fail to drop as intended.

The electricity market operator should be given additional power so it can intervene directly in the energy market, the head of Origin Energy has said.

Labor's climate change spokesman Mark Butler has dismissed as "rubbish" widely circulating claims that Federal ALP had dropped its goal of achieving half of the nation's electricity will be supplied by renewable sources by 2030.

South 32, the spin-out of orphan assets from BHP Billiton, has benefited handsomely from the surge in metal prices in the latter part of 2016, but has opted to hang on to a large chunk of its cash.

The heavy write-down of assets disclosed earlier in the week pushed Origin Energy's earnings into the red, with the improved performance of its energy utility business overwhelmed by asset valuation adjustments.

The fall in the oil price has prompted Origin Energy to slash $1.9 billion off the value of its assets, primarily for its gas export project in Queensland.

Unusually warm sea temperatures and the prospect for more to come have reef scientists worried that the Great Barrier Reef may experience another major coral bleaching event. And Sydney is also under threat.

• ANALYSIS

The noisy parliamentary battle over renewable energy rages on

The booming market for home storage could be thrown into disarray if proposed safety guidelines force owners to move their battery units outside.

• COMMENT

Consumers are voters and they won't forget who is to blame if there's a meltdown in our nation's energy supplies.

Tomago Aluminium, Australia's largest smelter and the state's largest electricity user, has been ordered to dramatically reduce power consumption for a second day as a record heatwave strains NSW's power sector.

• ANALYSIS

Pointing our solar panels in the wrong direction is only one quirk in our strained energy system.

Oil rose on a report that OPEC has achieved a record 90 per cent initial compliance with a production cut accord.

Rio Tinto has appointed three former senior managers from the energy industry to its board as non-executive directors, including Shell's departing CFO Simon Henry.

Authorities are pleading for public help to avoid blackouts and limit fire risks as a record-breaking heatwave sets in across eastern Australia.

Sydney has sweltered through another record-breaking day in summer of peak heat, with hospitals remaining on alert, power cuts hitting businesses and sports competitions scrambling to cancel weekend events.