Monday 20 July 2026
Trading day 2026-07-20
NEM daily prices stabilise as South Australia records highest regional average
Regional pricing remained relatively tight with no negative intervals recorded across the market. South Australia saw the highest peak price of $138.10/MWh, while Queensland maintained the lowest daily average of $64.50/MWh. New South Wales recorded the highest regional peak demand of 10,632 MW at 18:55.
Renewable generation contributed 41.0% of the total energy mix, with an instantaneous peak of 64.9% occurring at 13:15. Wind and solar rooftop provided 15.1% and 9.1% of the mix respectively. Hydro generation added a further 8.0% to the total supply.
Batteries discharged 17,923 MWh throughout the day, resulting in a net consumption of 3,433 MWh after charging. FCAS costs were led by the Raise Regulation service in New South Wales, which reached a peak price of $12.00/MWh.
Total emissions for the trading day were 369,223 tCO2, representing a 12.3% increase compared to the same day last week. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Victoria into New South Wales and from Tasmania into Victoria.
Today · Queensland is forecast to reach a peak price of $319.04/MWh at 19:30, while South Australia expects a peak of $145.00/MWh at 18:30.
Why it matters · The daily average price of $70.30/MWh sits marginally below the 7-day average of $70.74/MWh, breaking a three-day run of prices exceeding $80/MWh. This price stability occurred despite a 12.3% weekly rise in emissions and a reliance on coal for over half of the total generation mix.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $81 | $83 | $30 | $121 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $64 | $67 | $7 | $106 | 0 | 0 |
| SA | $92 | $95 | $37 | $138 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $77 | $79 | $9 | $117 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | $70 | $71 | $19 | $105 | 0 | 0 |
Min · Max are 5-minute dispatch extremes; the price chart plots 30-minute averages, so its peak reads lower.
Demand
FCAS
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $4,187 | 0 | $12 | 21 July, 00:05 |
| LOWERREG | $329 | 0 | $4 | 20 July, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $156 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 07:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $114 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 16:50 |
| LOWER60SEC | $91 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $44 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 16:50 |
| LOWER5MIN | $39 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 14:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $38 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| Total | $4,998 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $4,804 | 0 | $12 | 21 July, 00:05 |
| LOWERREG | $1,211 | 0 | $4 | 20 July, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $309 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 07:35 |
| LOWER60SEC | $230 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $158 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 17:25 |
| LOWER5MIN | $83 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 14:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $48 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $34 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 17:25 |
| Total | $6,878 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $7,692 | 0 | $12 | 21 July, 00:05 |
| LOWERREG | $1,006 | 0 | $4 | 20 July, 15:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $231 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 16:50 |
| RAISE6SEC | $222 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 07:35 |
| LOWER60SEC | $116 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $68 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 16:50 |
| LOWER5MIN | $42 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 14:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $25 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| Total | $9,402 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $4,270 | 0 | $12 | 21 July, 00:05 |
| LOWERREG | $2,487 | 0 | $4 | 20 July, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $315 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 07:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $236 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 16:50 |
| LOWER60SEC | $165 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $76 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 16:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $67 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| LOWER5MIN | $66 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 14:55 |
| Total | $7,683 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,044 | 0 | $5 | 20 July, 09:40 |
| LOWERREG | $3,422 | 0 | $24 | 20 July, 09:00 |
| RAISE6SEC | $4 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 09:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $4 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 09:30 |
| RAISE5MIN | $0 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 16:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $0 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| LOWER60SEC | $0 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 04:15 |
| LOWER5MIN | $0 | 0 | $0 | 20 July, 14:55 |
| Total | $11,474 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,246 MW at 18:00 as NSW spot hit $113/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,329 MW at 18:00 as QLD spot hit $97/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 918 MW at 08:00 as VIC spot hit $97/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 257 MW at 08:00 as SA spot hit $108/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,502 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $101/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,841MWh | -749 |
#2QLD | 5,373MWh | -949 |
#3VIC | 4,798MWh | -684 |
#4SA | 911MWh | -1,051 |
Generation Mix
- Coal62.4% · 132.1 GWh
- Gas1.4% · 3.0 GWh
- Hydro3.2% · 6.8 GWh
- Wind6.9% · 14.6 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.9% · 25.2 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)11.0% · 23.3 GWh
- Battery3.2% · 6.8 GWh
- Coal58.9% · 119.2 GWh
- Gas2.9% · 5.9 GWh
- Hydro2.6% · 5.2 GWh
- Wind14.0% · 28.3 GWh
- Solar (utility)8.5% · 17.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)10.3% · 21.0 GWh
- Battery2.7% · 5.4 GWh
- Other0.2% · 0.5 GWh
- Coal58.5% · 113.5 GWh
- Gas1.7% · 3.3 GWh
- Hydro5.7% · 11.0 GWh
- Wind22.6% · 43.8 GWh
- Solar (utility)3.0% · 5.9 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)6.1% · 11.9 GWh
- Battery2.5% · 4.8 GWh
- Gas39.2% · 12.5 GWh
- Wind35.6% · 11.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)6.3% · 2.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)16.1% · 5.2 GWh
- Battery2.8% · 0.9 GWh
- Gas8.9% · 3.6 GWh
- Hydro78.0% · 31.6 GWh
- Wind11.9% · 4.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)1.2% · 0.5 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 31.6%
- VIC 42.8%
- QLD 43.3%
- SA 41.8%
- TAS 114.7%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +43.1 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −53.0 GWh | 4 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +26.2 GWh | 16 | — |
| V-SA | −27.2 GWh | 0 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +17.1 GWh | 0 | — |
Per-region net of NETINTERCHANGE proxied to a representative interconnector. Full per-interconnector decomposition + hours-at-limit needs DINTERCONNECTOR parsing (follow-up).
Emissions
| NSW | 116.7k tCO₂ | 0.541 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 107.2k tCO₂ | 0.522 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 6.2k tCO₂ | 0.192 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 136.9k tCO₂ | 0.701 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.2k tCO₂ | 0.054 tCO₂/MWh |