Saturday 8 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-08
Significant price divergence as southern regions average below five dollars
Regional price spreads were extreme, with Victoria and South Australia averaging $3.70/MWh and $4.40/MWh respectively. In contrast, New South Wales reached a maximum of $117.10/MWh. Negative pricing was prevalent across the southern and northern regions, with Queensland recording 150 negative intervals.
Demand peaked simultaneously across most regions between 18:05 and 18:40, led by New South Wales at 10,113 MW. Total system emissions fell 11.8% compared to the same day last week, totalling 318,136 tonnes of CO2.
Coal provided 51.4% of the generation mix, while wind and solar combined for 39.8% of total energy. Hydro and gas contributed 5.1% and 1.4% respectively. Batteries discharged 14,454 MWh to the grid, representing 2.2% of the total generation mix.
FCAS costs remained low with no price spikes recorded across any service. The highest regulation cost occurred in the Raise Regulation service at $34,575, with a peak price of $21.00/MWh in Tasmania.
Today · Predispatch forecasts suggest a peak price of $319.04/MWh in Queensland at 19:30 and $145.00/MWh in South Australia at 18:30.
Why it matters · The daily average of $31.80/MWh sits significantly below the 7-day average of $74.83/MWh, breaking a three-day run of prices exceeding $80/MWh. This sharp decline coincided with a 73.9% instantaneous renewable peak and high battery activity, which effectively suppressed prices in the southern regions.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $73 | $77 | -$6 | $117 | 14 | 0 |
| QLD | $56 | $64 | -$7 | $105 | 150 | 0 |
| SA | $4 | $5 | -$12 | $54 | 286 | 0 |
| VIC | $4 | $5 | -$8 | $39 | 280 | 0 |
| TAS | $7 | $7 | -$8 | $88 | 128 | 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 | $3,300 | 0 | $12 | 8 Aug, 07:40 |
| LOWERREG | $952 | 0 | $7 | 8 Aug, 10:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $183 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $111 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 07:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $87 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 07:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $59 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $52 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 21:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $51 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 15:10 |
| Total | $4,795 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,529 | 0 | $12 | 8 Aug, 07:40 |
| LOWERREG | $4,014 | 0 | $7 | 8 Aug, 10:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $394 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $232 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 07:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $160 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 07:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $97 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $66 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $56 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 21:45 |
| Total | $14,550 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,987 | 0 | $12 | 8 Aug, 07:40 |
| LOWERREG | $3,064 | 0 | $7 | 8 Aug, 10:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $305 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 07:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $296 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 07:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $244 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $138 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 21:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $46 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER6SEC | $45 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| Total | $13,126 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $4,053 | 0 | $12 | 8 Aug, 07:40 |
| LOWERREG | $3,367 | 0 | $7 | 8 Aug, 10:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $345 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $204 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 07:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $155 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 07:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $104 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $84 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $80 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 21:45 |
| Total | $8,393 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,705 | 0 | $5 | 8 Aug, 08:35 |
| LOWERREG | $5,972 | 0 | $21 | 8 Aug, 20:50 |
| RAISE6SEC | $818 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 04:05 |
| RAISE60SEC | $818 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 04:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $83 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 14:20 |
| LOWER6SEC | $81 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 17:30 |
| RAISE5MIN | $19 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 17:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $2 | 0 | $0 | 8 Aug, 15:10 |
| Total | $16,498 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,234 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $102/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,169 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $96/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 481 MW at 18:30 as VIC spot hit $21/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 340 MW at 18:30 as SA spot hit $28/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,225 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $28/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,024MWh | -2,086 |
#2QLD | 5,619MWh | -600 |
#3VIC | 1,840MWh | -2,223 |
#4SA | 971MWh | -743 |
Generation Mix
- Coal62.9% · 128.1 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro5.2% · 10.7 GWh
- Wind2.1% · 4.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)12.7% · 25.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)13.6% · 27.6 GWh
- Battery3.0% · 6.0 GWh
- Coal62.0% · 121.7 GWh
- Gas2.0% · 3.9 GWh
- Hydro1.6% · 3.1 GWh
- Wind4.5% · 8.8 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.4% · 22.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)15.3% · 30.0 GWh
- Battery2.9% · 5.6 GWh
- Other0.3% · 0.7 GWh
- Coal46.7% · 80.7 GWh
- Hydro0.5% · 0.8 GWh
- Wind41.0% · 70.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)3.0% · 5.2 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)7.7% · 13.4 GWh
- Battery1.1% · 1.8 GWh
- Gas2.7% · 1.2 GWh
- Wind86.6% · 40.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)1.3% · 0.6 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)7.3% · 3.4 GWh
- Battery2.1% · 1.0 GWh
- Gas12.6% · 3.1 GWh
- Hydro74.1% · 18.2 GWh
- Wind9.9% · 2.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)3.3% · 0.8 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 31.9%
- VIC 59.8%
- QLD 40.1%
- SA 106.3%
- TAS 70.1%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +36.1 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −61.9 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +37.1 GWh | 0 | — |
| V-SA | +9.7 GWh | 14 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | −14.7 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 | 112.0k tCO₂ | 0.542 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 108.3k tCO₂ | 0.544 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 458 tCO₂ | 0.010 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 95.5k tCO₂ | 0.558 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 1.8k tCO₂ | 0.077 tCO₂/MWh |