Monday 27 July 2026
Trading day 2026-07-27
Regional price divergence intensifies as South Australia records 398 negative intervals
Average prices ranged from 24.70 dollars per megawatt hour in South Australia to 102.30 dollars in New South Wales. South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania all experienced negative price intervals, with South Australia reaching a minimum of -164.30 dollars. In contrast, New South Wales and Queensland saw no negative intervals and recorded maximum prices of 311.90 and 294.20 dollars respectively.
Renewable generation achieved an instantaneous peak of 63.1 percent at 11:50, with wind contributing 15.1 percent and rooftop solar 9.4 percent. Fossil fuel generation remained dominant for the day, with coal and gas together accounting for 59.8 percent of the total fuel mix. Hydroelectric generation provided a further 7.3 percent of the daily energy requirements.
Battery storage systems discharged 15,721 megawatt hours into the grid, though the sector remained a net consumer with -7,100 megawatt hours. Demand peaks were concentrated between 18:10 and 18:15 across the mainland, led by New South Wales at 10,842 megawatts. Tasmania recorded its daily peak earlier at 08:05 with 1,351 megawatts.
Total emissions reached 382,190 tonnes of carbon dioxide, representing a 3.5 percent increase compared to the same day last week. Frequency Control Ancillary Services costs were highest for the Raise Regulation service in Tasmania at 36,310 dollars. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Queensland into New South Wales via the main link.
Today · Forward projections indicate a Queensland peak price of 319.04 dollars at 19:30, while other regions are forecast to remain below 150 dollars.
Why it matters · The daily average of 67.90 dollars sits 9.1 percent above the weekly average, breaking a three-day trend of declining prices. This increase occurred despite 720 combined negative intervals in the southern regions, as high northern prices and a 3.5 percent rise in emissions offset the impact of the 63.1 percent renewable peak.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $102 | $107 | $30 | $312 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $88 | $93 | $25 | $294 | 0 | 0 |
| SA | $25 | $26 | -$164 | $259 | 398 | 0 |
| VIC | $28 | $29 | -$278 | $247 | 176 | 0 |
| TAS | $36 | $39 | -$10 | $246 | 146 | 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 | $4,745 | 0 | $12 | 27 July, 23:05 |
| LOWERREG | $622 | 0 | $7 | 27 July, 15:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $192 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 08:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $167 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 19:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $84 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 07:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $81 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:00 |
| LOWER5MIN | $36 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $36 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:40 |
| Total | $5,963 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,609 | 0 | $12 | 27 July, 23:05 |
| LOWERREG | $1,998 | 0 | $7 | 27 July, 15:15 |
| RAISE6SEC | $414 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 19:00 |
| RAISE60SEC | $393 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 08:45 |
| LOWER60SEC | $221 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $103 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 08:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $64 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $50 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:50 |
| Total | $9,852 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $11,997 | 0 | $12 | 27 July, 23:05 |
| LOWERREG | $2,652 | 0 | $7 | 27 July, 15:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $455 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 08:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $383 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 19:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $150 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 07:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $92 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:00 |
| LOWER5MIN | $28 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $26 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:40 |
| Total | $15,783 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOWER60SEC | $11,880 | 0 | $50 | 27 July, 16:25 |
| RAISEREG | $4,280 | 0 | $12 | 27 July, 23:05 |
| LOWERREG | $2,571 | 0 | $8 | 27 July, 15:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $2,241 | 0 | $5 | 27 July, 15:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $729 | 0 | $2 | 27 July, 16:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $433 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 06:05 |
| RAISE60SEC | $358 | 0 | $1 | 27 July, 17:30 |
| RAISE5MIN | $189 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 06:05 |
| Total | $22,681 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,678 | 0 | $30 | 27 July, 17:30 |
| LOWERREG | $5,162 | 0 | $12 | 27 July, 22:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $319 | 0 | $3 | 27 July, 21:45 |
| RAISE60SEC | $202 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 19:00 |
| LOWER60SEC | $23 | 0 | $1 | 27 July, 21:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $12 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:40 |
| RAISE5MIN | $2 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 21:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $1 | 0 | $0 | 27 July, 15:50 |
| Total | $14,399 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,252 MW at 18:00 as NSW spot hit $190/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,611 MW at 18:00 as QLD spot hit $163/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 450 MW at 19:30 as VIC spot hit $41/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 534 MW at 18:30 as SA spot hit $74/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,375 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $37/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,319MWh | -1,930 |
#2QLD | 5,839MWh | -1,613 |
#3VIC | 2,543MWh | -2,430 |
#4SA | 1,020MWh | -1,128 |
Generation Mix
- Coal71.1% · 154.0 GWh
- Gas1.1% · 2.4 GWh
- Hydro6.2% · 13.4 GWh
- Wind1.8% · 3.9 GWh
- Solar (utility)6.9% · 14.9 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)10.0% · 21.8 GWh
- Battery2.9% · 6.3 GWh
- Coal60.5% · 124.2 GWh
- Gas6.0% · 12.4 GWh
- Hydro2.7% · 5.6 GWh
- Wind5.4% · 11.2 GWh
- Solar (utility)10.5% · 21.6 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.0% · 24.6 GWh
- Battery2.8% · 5.8 GWh
- Coal59.5% · 106.1 GWh
- Gas0.1% · 0.1 GWh
- Hydro2.3% · 4.1 GWh
- Wind28.8% · 51.2 GWh
- Solar (utility)1.9% · 3.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)6.0% · 10.7 GWh
- Battery1.4% · 2.5 GWh
- Gas16.0% · 7.4 GWh
- Wind63.7% · 29.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)4.0% · 1.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)14.2% · 6.6 GWh
- Battery2.2% · 1.0 GWh
- Gas8.0% · 3.0 GWh
- Hydro71.0% · 27.2 GWh
- Wind19.5% · 7.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)1.6% · 0.6 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 22.4%
- VIC 41.0%
- QLD 37.9%
- SA 84.7%
- TAS 113.6%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +34.0 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −56.9 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +11.7 GWh | 6 | — |
| V-SA | +7.3 GWh | 10 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +9.5 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 | 135.6k tCO₂ | 0.616 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 115.0k tCO₂ | 0.550 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 3.4k tCO₂ | 0.073 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 126.3k tCO₂ | 0.712 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 1.8k tCO₂ | 0.049 tCO₂/MWh |