Increasing electrical apprentice pay rates would have a damaging impact on the industry and result in fewer employers taking on new apprentices, the CEO of NECA has said. [ + ]

The South Australian Consumer and Business Services (CBS) has issued a public warning about the company following complaints of faulty equipment and warranty work not being completed. [ + ]

Australia now has the opportunity to make transformative changes to our electricity market to put power in the hands of consumers and businesses, according to the Chief Executive of Australia’s peak clean energy industry body, Clean Energy Council. [ + ]

Estonia has become the world’s first country to launch a nationwide fast-charging network for electric vehicles, using technology provided by power and automation technology group ABB. [ + ]

In an industry first, the Clipsal by Schneider Electric Partner Business has announced a commercial marketing alliance with Australia’s largest lighting retailer, Beacon Lighting. [ + ]

Security 2013 Exhibition & Conference will be held from 24-26 July at the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre. Now in its 28th year, the event is expected to attract 4500 visitors from government and private enterprises, and more than 150 local and international suppliers will be showcasing the latest business security solutions for the Australasia market. [ + ]

The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) has issued an electrical safety warning to residents as wild weather continues to cause problems around Australia with floods in northern NSW, threatened floods in southeast Queensland and a tropical cyclone set to hit northern Western Australia. [ + ]

The National Electrical and Communications Association (NECA) has issued a warning that under no circumstances should electrical apprentices ever undertake live electrical work nor work without suitable supervision. [ + ]

NCAR is spearheading a project to develop technology that gives 36-hour forecasts of incoming solar energy that could eliminate guesswork for solar power plants. [ + ]

According to a release from Master Electricans Australia, prior to the mid-1980s Australia was one of the highest users of asbestos in the world. Today, Australia has one of the highest rates of asbestos-related disease in the world. [ + ]

Master Electricians Australia (MEA) has called on the Queensland Government to restrict power price rises for off-peak energy tariffs, in order to ease pressure on the grid, reduce the amount of investment needed and cut costs to consumers. [ + ]

Dr Lan Lam, the primary inventor of the UltraBattery, and his team took the world’s 150 year-old battery technology and revolutionised it in the laboratories of CSIRO. [ + ]

Securing funding for one of Australia’s largest geothermal projects and establishing Perth as one of the world’s top five ‘geothermal cities’ were celebrated as some of the major achievements of the Western Australian Geothermal Centre of Excellence (WAGCOE) at its conclusion last week. [ + ]

GE’s Power Conversion business was instrumental in bringing Australia’s largest seawater desalination plant into operation by providing technology that delivers a rainfall independent water supply to complement catchments and storages in the area around Melbourne. [ + ]

For the twelfth year running, CeBIT Australia returns to the Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre from 28-30 May 2013 as the number one business technology event of the Asia-Pacific business calendar. [ + ]