It may be well be summer, but much of Australia has seen record extreme heat in recent weeks, with more set to come. The recent spate of hot weather conditions across much of the country has prompted a warning from Unions NSW. [ + ]

The Electrical Trades Union (ETU) says staff cuts are to blame for recent delays in much-needed repairs to the ACT's electricity network. [ + ]

Workplace injury doesn't begin and end with the event itself. [ + ]

Glen Morris (VP of the Energy Storage Council) will be presenting another series of four-day residential Solar + Storage training courses at Moora Moora Community Cooperative near Healesville, Victoria. The next course is 7–10 February 2017, with another four scheduled between now and mid-June. [ + ]

Daniel Saffioti, CIO of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, had been told for years his property in Haywards Bay, NSW (south of Wollongong), was not eligible for NBN access, despite the fact that a fibre (FTTP) pillar was installed directly opposite his home. When his neighbours started getting NBN access via FTTN, he took matters into his own hands. [ + ]

Scientists from Stanford University have developed the thinnest possible electrical wires, a mere three atoms wide, according to a report on ScienceAlert. [ + ]

A new, publicly accessible Internet of Things (IoT) network has been implemented in Townsville, North Queensland. It is the result of a partnership between Townsville City Council and Campbell Scientific Australia (CSA). [ + ]

Australia's most advanced database of local and international renewable energy grid integration projects has been released to support innovation in the national energy system. [ + ]

A recent spate of in-flight emergency events has prompted the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to issue a warning to passengers travelling over the holiday season. [ + ]

A new open source planning tool hopes to create what researchers from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are calling the 'global energy turnaround'. In order to understand existing infrastructure, the team have developed the OpenGridMap app, which they hope will answer questions such as: How much electricity flows through the grid?; When and where?; Where are the bottlenecks?; and, What happens when wind turbines and solar cells feed in additional energy? [ + ]

The Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) and the Textile Clothing and Footware Union of Australia (TCFUA) are one step closer to amalgamation, having signed an amalgamation memorandum of understanding. The two unions have been increasingly collaborating over the last 12 months. [ + ]

The business formerly known as Emerson Network Power has announced a name change and the appointment of a new CEO after acquisition by Platinum Equity. Emerson retained a minority interest in the company under the new arrangement. [ + ]

The announcement from Western Australia's Barnett government of plans to sell 51% of the state's power utility if re-elected has caused concern.  [ + ]

Market research company Euromonitor International thinks there is a big future in the connected appliances market, with a new report projecting a growth rate of over 493% from 2016 to 2020. [ + ]

Hills has announced it will partner with UTC Fire & Security (UTC) to introduce a range of fire detection products into the Australian and New Zealand markets. [ + ]