NEM Daily analysis

Thursday 23 July 2026

Trading day 2026-07-23

Market Snapshot

NEM daily average prices drop as renewable share reaches forty-three percent

Regional average prices ranged from $34.70/MWh in Victoria to $63.20/MWh in South Australia, with the latter peaking at $107.80/MWh. Negative pricing was prevalent in the southern regions, where South Australia and Victoria recorded 40 and 34 negative intervals respectively. NSW and Queensland maintained higher averages above $56/MWh with only two negative intervals each.

Demand peaked across all regions between 18:10 and 18:55, with NSW reaching a maximum load of 10,832 MW. Total system energy consumption was led by NSW at 409.5 GWh, followed by Victoria at 310.3 GWh and Queensland at 294 GWh.

Coal remained the primary generation source at 52.5%, while wind contributed a significant 19.7% to the daily mix. The renewable share peaked instantaneously at 68.8% during the midday period at 12:05. Batteries contributed 2.2% of total dispatch, providing 15,246 MWh to the grid throughout the trading day.

FCAS costs remained low with no price spikes recorded across any service, although Tasmania saw the highest individual service price of $29/MWh for Raise Regulation. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Victoria into NSW and from South Australia into Victoria.

Today · Predispatch forecasts indicate a peak price of $319.04/MWh in Queensland at 19:30, with other regional peaks ranging between $61.84/MWh and $145.00/MWh.

Why it matters · The daily average of $52.20/MWh sits 32.3% below the weekly average, extending a downward trend from the $91.30/MWh peak seen earlier in the seven-day period. This price softening coincided with a high 19.7% wind share and significant battery activity, which together moderated the impact of the 18:55 demand peak.

NSW $57VIC $35QLD $57SA $63TAS $35

Numbers-only recap · gemini-3-flash-preview

Prices

Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average

NSW VIC QLD SA TAS

Region	Avg	VWAP	Min	Max	Neg
NSW	$57	$59	-$1	$87	2
QLD	$57	$59	-$1	$86	2
SA	$63	$70	-$4	$108	40
VIC	$35	$38	-$1	$81	34
TAS	$35	$36	-$1	$75	8

Min · Max are 5-minute dispatch extremes; the price chart plots 30-minute averages, so its peak reads lower.

Demand

NSW

Peak

10,832MW

18:55

Trough

6,664MW

13:15

Energy

409.5GWh

QLD

Peak

7,723MW

18:25

Trough

4,753MW

12:45

Energy

294.0GWh

Peak

2,222MW

18:50

Trough

899MW

14:30

Energy

76.2GWh

VIC

Peak

8,438MW

18:50

Trough

4,956MW

04:30

Energy

310.3GWh

TAS

Peak

1,477MW

18:10

Trough

1,039MW

02:15

Energy

58.7GWh

FCAS

Service	Cost	Spikes	Peak	When
RAISEREG	$3,484	0	$10	23 July, 15:55
LOWERREG	$786	0	$4	23 July, 16:10
LOWER60SEC	$138	0	$0	23 July, 14:30
RAISE6SEC	$116	0	$0	23 July, 07:00
LOWER5MIN	$100	0	$0	23 July, 15:05
RAISE60SEC	$88	0	$0	23 July, 07:40
LOWER6SEC	$51	0	$0	23 July, 15:00
RAISE5MIN	$28	0	$0	23 July, 07:40
Total	$4,790

Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

Service	Cost	Spikes	Peak	When
RAISEREG	$3,970	0	$10	23 July, 15:55
LOWERREG	$1,927	0	$4	23 July, 16:10
LOWER60SEC	$289	0	$0	23 July, 14:30
RAISE6SEC	$175	0	$0	23 July, 07:00
RAISE60SEC	$111	0	$0	23 July, 07:40
LOWER5MIN	$89	0	$0	23 July, 15:05
LOWER6SEC	$55	0	$0	23 July, 15:00
RAISE5MIN	$18	0	$0	23 July, 07:40
Total	$6,634

Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

Service	Cost	Spikes	Peak	When
RAISEREG	$6,255	0	$10	23 July, 15:55
LOWERREG	$2,577	0	$4	23 July, 16:10
LOWER60SEC	$239	0	$0	23 July, 14:30
RAISE6SEC	$149	0	$0	23 July, 07:00
LOWER5MIN	$133	0	$0	23 July, 15:05
RAISE60SEC	$127	0	$0	23 July, 07:40
LOWER6SEC	$60	0	$0	23 July, 15:00
RAISE5MIN	$40	0	$0	23 July, 07:40
Total	$9,579

Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

Service	Cost	Spikes	Peak	When
RAISEREG	$3,447	0	$10	23 July, 15:55
LOWERREG	$2,248	0	$4	23 July, 16:10
RAISE6SEC	$199	0	$0	23 July, 07:00
LOWER60SEC	$189	0	$0	23 July, 14:30
RAISE60SEC	$155	0	$0	23 July, 07:40
LOWER5MIN	$101	0	$0	23 July, 15:05
LOWER6SEC	$76	0	$0	23 July, 15:00
RAISE5MIN	$40	0	$0	23 July, 07:40
Total	$6,454

Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

Service	Cost	Spikes	Peak	When
RAISEREG	$8,728	0	$29	24 July, 01:10
LOWERREG	$2,039	0	$3	23 July, 09:55
RAISE60SEC	$1,330	0	$3	23 July, 12:10
RAISE6SEC	$1,325	0	$25	23 July, 15:55
LOWER60SEC	$145	0	$0	23 July, 12:05
LOWER6SEC	$139	0	$0	23 July, 14:25
RAISE5MIN	$68	0	$0	23 July, 12:05
LOWER5MIN	$5	0	$0	23 July, 15:05
Total	$13,779

Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

Battery dispatch

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 976 MW at 19:30 as NSW spot hit $75/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,159 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $78/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 865 MW at 19:30 as VIC spot hit $71/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 316 MW at 08:30 as SA spot hit $74/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 2,922 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $64/MWh.

Discharged

4,393MWh

peak 976 MW · 19:30

Charged

7,082MWh

peak 1,521 MW

Net

-2,689MWh

discharge − charge

Round-trip

62%

discharge / charge ratio

Discharged

5,079MWh

peak 1,159 MW · 18:30

Charged

6,571MWh

peak 1,283 MW

Net

-1,491MWh

discharge − charge

Round-trip

77%

discharge / charge ratio

Discharged

4,837MWh

peak 865 MW · 19:30

Charged

6,230MWh

peak 851 MW

Net

-1,393MWh

discharge − charge

Round-trip

78%

discharge / charge ratio

Discharged

937MWh

peak 316 MW · 08:30

Charged

2,235MWh

peak 464 MW

Net

-1,298MWh

discharge − charge

Round-trip

42%

discharge / charge ratio

NEM-wide

Discharged

15,246MWh

peak 2,922 MW · 18:30

Charged

22,117MWh

peak 3,737 MW

Net

-6,871MWh

discharge − charge

Round-trip

69%

discharge / charge ratio

Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average

Net MWdischarge ↑ · charge ↓NSWQLDVICSATAS$/MWh

Regional dispatch ranking

Region	Discharged	Peak MW	Peak time	Net
#1QLD	5,079MWh	1,159	18:30	-1,491
#2VIC	4,837MWh	865	19:30	-1,393
#3NSW	4,393MWh	976	19:30	-2,689
#4SA	937MWh	316	08:30	-1,298

Generation Mix

Coal60.0% · 135.5 GWh
Gas0.6% · 1.3 GWh
Hydro2.7% · 6.1 GWh
Wind15.0% · 34.0 GWh
Solar (utility)9.5% · 21.6 GWh
Solar (rooftop)10.2% · 23.1 GWh
Battery1.9% · 4.4 GWh

Coal66.4% · 123.7 GWh
Gas2.1% · 4.0 GWh
Hydro2.3% · 4.3 GWh
Wind4.9% · 9.2 GWh
Solar (utility)9.4% · 17.5 GWh
Solar (rooftop)12.1% · 22.6 GWh
Battery2.7% · 5.1 GWh

Coal52.0% · 105.1 GWh
Hydro4.6% · 9.3 GWh
Wind30.8% · 62.3 GWh
Solar (utility)3.6% · 7.3 GWh
Solar (rooftop)6.5% · 13.2 GWh
Battery2.4% · 4.8 GWh

Gas23.5% · 8.8 GWh
Wind51.5% · 19.2 GWh
Solar (utility)4.4% · 1.6 GWh
Solar (rooftop)18.1% · 6.8 GWh
Battery2.5% · 0.9 GWh

Gas7.8% · 3.3 GWh
Hydro62.0% · 26.1 GWh
Wind28.2% · 11.8 GWh
Solar (rooftop)2.0% · 0.8 GWh

coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)

coalhydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)

gasbattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)

gashydrowindsolar rooftop

Renewables

NSW · Daily renewable share

36.7%

VIC · Daily renewable share

52.9%

QLD · Daily renewable share

32.9%

SA · Daily renewable share

59.5%

TAS · Daily renewable share

110.2%

Peak instantaneous

68.8%

at 12:05

Daily NEM-wide share

43.5%

By region (daily share)

NSW

36.7%
VIC

52.9%
QLD

32.9%
SA

59.5%
TAS

110.2%

Interconnectors

Region (proxy)	Net flow	Direction changes	Hours at limit
N-Q-MNSP1	+8.7 GWh	46	—
NSW1-QLD1	−34.3 GWh	12	—
VIC1-NSW1	+39.2 GWh	6	—
V-SA	−22.9 GWh	16	—
T-V-MNSP1	+14.4 GWh	1	—

Per-region net of NETINTERCHANGE proxied to a representative interconnector. Full per-interconnector decomposition + hours-at-limit needs DINTERCONNECTOR parsing (follow-up).

Emissions

Total emissions

359.8k tCO₂

▼ 11.8% vs same day last week

Intensity by region

NSW	118.0k tCO₂	0.520 tCO₂/MWh
QLD	110.3k tCO₂	0.582 tCO₂/MWh
SA	4.1k tCO₂	0.110 tCO₂/MWh
VIC	125.3k tCO₂	0.615 tCO₂/MWh
TAS	2.0k tCO₂	0.048 tCO₂/MWh