Thursday 6 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-06
NEM average prices rise as NSW leads regional spot market volatility
Regional average prices ranged from 100.5 dollars per megawatt hour in Tasmania to 121.8 dollars in New South Wales. Despite the price spread, no region experienced negative intervals or cap events during the 24-hour period. Demand peaks occurred primarily in the evening, with New South Wales and South Australia both peaking after 19:00.
Renewable generation reached an instantaneous peak of 61.6 percent at 13:15, though the daily share averaged 34.4 percent. Solar utility and rooftop sources combined for 16.1 percent of the mix, while wind contributed 8 percent. Hydro generation provided 9.3 percent of the total energy, supporting the 57 percent share from coal assets.
Batteries discharged 18,812 megawatt hours to the grid, resulting in a net consumption of 5,559 megawatt hours after charging. FCAS costs were most prominent in Tasmania, where the Raise Regulation service peaked at 407 dollars. Total emissions for the day were 412,178 tonnes of carbon dioxide, representing a 1 percent increase compared to the same day last week.
Today · Forward projections indicate a peak price of 319.04 dollars per megawatt hour in Queensland at 19:30 tonight.
Why it matters · The daily average of 110.3 dollars sits 17.7 percent above the 7-day average, extending a four-day rising price trend. This upward movement is significant as it occurred despite a healthy 61.6 percent instantaneous renewable peak and the total absence of negative price intervals.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $122 | $127 | $44 | $312 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $106 | $111 | $30 | $294 | 0 | 0 |
| SA | $113 | $117 | $41 | $265 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $108 | $111 | $25 | $281 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | $100 | $102 | $31 | $450 | 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 | $4,933 | 0 | $27 | 6 Aug, 08:20 |
| LOWERREG | $656 | 0 | $5 | 6 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $180 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $149 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:20 |
| LOWER60SEC | $127 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| LOWER5MIN | $84 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 16:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $80 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $66 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:25 |
| Total | $6,274 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $10,664 | 0 | $27 | 6 Aug, 08:20 |
| LOWERREG | $2,945 | 0 | $5 | 6 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $448 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:50 |
| LOWER60SEC | $321 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| RAISE60SEC | $280 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $188 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 16:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $171 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $78 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:25 |
| Total | $15,096 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $11,644 | 0 | $27 | 6 Aug, 08:20 |
| LOWERREG | $2,665 | 0 | $5 | 6 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $460 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $443 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:20 |
| LOWER60SEC | $257 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $177 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:25 |
| LOWER6SEC | $148 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| LOWER5MIN | $83 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 16:00 |
| Total | $15,876 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,984 | 0 | $27 | 6 Aug, 08:20 |
| LOWERREG | $3,392 | 0 | $5 | 6 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $395 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $300 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:20 |
| LOWER60SEC | $298 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $182 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| LOWER5MIN | $178 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 16:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $115 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 07:25 |
| Total | $13,844 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $12,187 | 0 | $407 | 6 Aug, 13:00 |
| RAISE60SEC | $7,787 | 0 | $403 | 6 Aug, 13:00 |
| LOWERREG | $2,679 | 0 | $3 | 6 Aug, 15:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $152 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 09:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $39 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 16:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $7 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| LOWER60SEC | $6 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 12:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $2 | 0 | $0 | 6 Aug, 10:25 |
| Total | $22,858 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,141 MW at 19:00 as NSW spot hit $149/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,342 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $127/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 952 MW at 08:00 as VIC spot hit $237/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 264 MW at 08:00 as SA spot hit $226/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,010 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $114/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,568MWh | -2,196 |
#2QLD | 5,869MWh | -793 |
#3VIC | 5,161MWh | -1,631 |
#4SA | 1,214MWh | -940 |
Generation Mix
- Coal65.9% · 150.3 GWh
- Gas1.2% · 2.7 GWh
- Hydro4.2% · 9.6 GWh
- Wind5.3% · 12.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)9.5% · 21.6 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)11.0% · 25.2 GWh
- Battery2.9% · 6.6 GWh
- Coal67.0% · 138.5 GWh
- Gas5.2% · 10.7 GWh
- Hydro1.3% · 2.8 GWh
- Wind3.7% · 7.6 GWh
- Solar (utility)8.1% · 16.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)11.6% · 24.0 GWh
- Battery2.8% · 5.9 GWh
- Other0.2% · 0.4 GWh
- Coal60.0% · 113.0 GWh
- Gas4.2% · 8.0 GWh
- Hydro10.8% · 20.4 GWh
- Wind13.3% · 25.0 GWh
- Solar (utility)2.7% · 5.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)6.2% · 11.7 GWh
- Battery2.7% · 5.2 GWh
- Gas56.1% · 23.2 GWh
- Wind20.7% · 8.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)5.6% · 2.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)14.7% · 6.1 GWh
- Battery2.9% · 1.2 GWh
- Gas11.0% · 4.5 GWh
- Hydro79.7% · 32.8 GWh
- Wind7.4% · 3.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)1.9% · 0.8 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 28.5%
- VIC 37.5%
- QLD 31.5%
- SA 39.9%
- TAS 110.4%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +41.3 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −62.3 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +21.7 GWh | 14 | — |
| V-SA | −11.5 GWh | 16 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +16.6 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 | 132.7k tCO₂ | 0.574 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 126.3k tCO₂ | 0.602 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 11.6k tCO₂ | 0.277 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 138.9k tCO₂ | 0.730 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.7k tCO₂ | 0.067 tCO₂/MWh |