Tuesday 4 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-04
South Australia average price reaches 113 dollars amid evening demand peaks
Average prices across the mainland ranged from 69.90 dollars per MWh in Queensland to 113.00 dollars per MWh in South Australia. Queensland and New South Wales experienced 98 and 52 negative price intervals respectively, while other regions remained positive throughout the day.
System demand peaked late in the day, with New South Wales reaching 11,024 MW and Queensland hitting 7,850 MW at 18:50. South Australia and Victoria also recorded their highest consumption levels during the evening window between 18:05 and 18:55.
Renewables contributed a 39.6 percent share of total energy, with an instantaneous peak of 66.7 percent occurring at 11:40. Wind and solar utility generation provided 13.6 percent and 7.3 percent of the mix, while rooftop solar added a further 9.8 percent.
Battery storage discharged 18,013 MWh to the grid, resulting in a net discharge of 4,119 MWh after accounting for charging. FCAS costs remained low, with the highest single service cost being 42,510 dollars for Raise Regulation in Tasmania.
Today · Forecasts indicate a peak price of 319.04 dollars per MWh in Queensland at 19:30 and 145.00 dollars in South Australia at 18:30.
Why it matters · The daily average price of 81.50 dollars per MWh sits above the weekly average and continues a rising trend from recent lows. This price movement coincides with a 14 percent increase in emissions and a reliance on coal for over half of the generation mix.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $83 | $89 | -$8 | $146 | 52 | 0 |
| QLD | $70 | $79 | -$7 | $142 | 98 | 0 |
| SA | $113 | $114 | $51 | $173 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $88 | $89 | $9 | $160 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | $84 | $84 | $30 | $145 | 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 | $3,977 | 0 | $21 | 5 Aug, 04:00 |
| LOWERREG | $711 | 0 | $4 | 4 Aug, 17:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $189 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 10:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $176 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 06:25 |
| RAISE60SEC | $127 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $89 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $81 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 14:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $62 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:35 |
| Total | $5,411 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,171 | 0 | $21 | 5 Aug, 04:00 |
| LOWERREG | $2,574 | 0 | $4 | 4 Aug, 17:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $345 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 10:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $280 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 06:25 |
| RAISE60SEC | $123 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $119 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $70 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 14:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $40 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:35 |
| Total | $12,722 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,065 | 0 | $21 | 5 Aug, 04:00 |
| LOWERREG | $2,711 | 0 | $4 | 4 Aug, 17:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $486 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 10:10 |
| RAISE60SEC | $264 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:15 |
| RAISE6SEC | $245 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 06:25 |
| LOWER6SEC | $210 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $190 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 14:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $96 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:35 |
| Total | $13,268 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $5,819 | 0 | $21 | 5 Aug, 04:00 |
| LOWERREG | $2,912 | 0 | $4 | 4 Aug, 17:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $324 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 10:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $299 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 06:25 |
| RAISE60SEC | $215 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $144 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $95 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 14:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $88 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:35 |
| Total | $9,897 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $14,478 | 0 | $86 | 4 Aug, 15:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $4,585 | 0 | $83 | 4 Aug, 09:10 |
| LOWERREG | $2,702 | 0 | $3 | 5 Aug, 00:00 |
| RAISE60SEC | $529 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 06:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $36 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 09:10 |
| LOWER6SEC | $24 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $23 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 07:30 |
| LOWER5MIN | $8 | 0 | $0 | 4 Aug, 15:00 |
| Total | $22,384 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,169 MW at 19:00 as NSW spot hit $127/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,094 MW at 19:00 as QLD spot hit $118/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 858 MW at 08:00 as VIC spot hit $75/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 407 MW at 08:00 as SA spot hit $84/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,104 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $108/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,002MWh | -1,632 |
#2QLD | 5,477MWh | -1,034 |
#3VIC | 5,297MWh | -913 |
#4SA | 1,237MWh | -540 |
Generation Mix
- Coal60.6% · 139.5 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro4.2% · 9.7 GWh
- Wind10.9% · 25.0 GWh
- Solar (utility)9.5% · 21.9 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)11.7% · 26.9 GWh
- Battery2.6% · 6.0 GWh
- Coal62.4% · 125.7 GWh
- Gas3.3% · 6.6 GWh
- Hydro1.8% · 3.7 GWh
- Wind4.2% · 8.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.0% · 22.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)14.7% · 29.6 GWh
- Battery2.7% · 5.5 GWh
- Coal55.8% · 112.0 GWh
- Gas1.6% · 3.2 GWh
- Hydro6.5% · 13.0 GWh
- Wind27.6% · 55.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)2.5% · 5.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)3.4% · 6.8 GWh
- Battery2.6% · 5.3 GWh
- Gas57.5% · 19.1 GWh
- Wind16.5% · 5.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.5% · 2.5 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)14.7% · 4.9 GWh
- Battery3.7% · 1.2 GWh
- Gas9.9% · 3.8 GWh
- Hydro85.1% · 32.7 GWh
- Wind3.3% · 1.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)1.7% · 0.7 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 35.4%
- VIC 46.1%
- QLD 37.6%
- SA 29.3%
- TAS 107.3%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +27.8 GWh | 6 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −37.0 GWh | 2 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +30.0 GWh | 6 | — |
| V-SA | −27.9 GWh | 0 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +12.3 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 | 122.0k tCO₂ | 0.523 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 113.3k tCO₂ | 0.555 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 9.4k tCO₂ | 0.277 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 135.1k tCO₂ | 0.667 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.3k tCO₂ | 0.061 tCO₂/MWh |