Sunday 9 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-09
Regional price divergence as South Australia records frequent negative intervals
Average prices across the mainland remained moderate, with New South Wales recording the highest regional average of 83.20 dollars per megawatt hour. In contrast, South Australia saw 136 negative intervals, resulting in a daily average of 42.40 dollars per megawatt hour. Queensland, Victoria, and Tasmania all averaged between 45.40 and 55.60 dollars per megawatt hour.
Demand peaked across all regions between 18:00 and 18:55, with New South Wales reaching a maximum load of 11,095 megawatts. Total system emissions for the day reached 334,458 tonnes of carbon dioxide, representing a 9.9 percent increase compared to the same day last week.
Renewable generation achieved an instantaneous peak of 60.9 percent at 11:40, supported by a 26.4 percent daily wind contribution. Utility and rooftop solar combined for 11 percent of the total mix, while batteries discharged 11,708 megawatt hours. FCAS costs remained low, with the highest peak price of 56 dollars per megawatt hour occurring in the Tasmanian Lower 6 Second service.
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 price sits 30.7 percent below the seven-day mean, breaking a three-day trend of higher pricing across the NEM. This lower price environment coincided with a high 44.3 percent renewable share and significant battery activity despite a nearly 10 percent rise in emissions.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $83 | $84 | $52 | $124 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $56 | $59 | -$1 | $84 | 2 | 0 |
| SA | $42 | $47 | -$7 | $117 | 136 | 0 |
| VIC | $45 | $47 | -$7 | $127 | 84 | 0 |
| TAS | $50 | $51 | -$7 | $116 | 50 | 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 | $4,940 | 0 | $20 | 9 Aug, 18:55 |
| LOWERREG | $917 | 0 | $4 | 9 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $143 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 22:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $124 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWER60SEC | $78 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 04:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $68 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $39 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 12:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $30 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 04:20 |
| Total | $6,340 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,250 | 0 | $20 | 9 Aug, 18:55 |
| LOWERREG | $3,655 | 0 | $4 | 9 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $289 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 22:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $184 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 18:55 |
| LOWER60SEC | $140 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 04:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $57 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 22:10 |
| LOWER6SEC | $39 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 04:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $35 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 12:50 |
| Total | $13,650 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,949 | 0 | $20 | 9 Aug, 18:55 |
| LOWERREG | $3,605 | 0 | $4 | 9 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE60SEC | $479 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 14:45 |
| RAISE6SEC | $466 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 22:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $219 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWER60SEC | $96 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 04:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $29 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 12:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $27 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 04:20 |
| Total | $14,868 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,899 | 0 | $20 | 9 Aug, 18:55 |
| LOWERREG | $3,533 | 0 | $4 | 9 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $389 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 22:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $308 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWER60SEC | $179 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 04:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $140 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWER6SEC | $60 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 04:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $60 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 12:50 |
| Total | $11,568 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $11,009 | 0 | $36 | 10 Aug, 00:05 |
| LOWERREG | $4,741 | 0 | $50 | 9 Aug, 10:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $1,518 | 0 | $56 | 10 Aug, 00:05 |
| RAISE60SEC | $1,304 | 0 | $24 | 10 Aug, 00:05 |
| RAISE6SEC | $994 | 0 | $9 | 10 Aug, 00:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $345 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 12:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $27 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 16:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $22 | 0 | $0 | 9 Aug, 12:15 |
| Total | $19,962 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 812 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $97/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,125 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $81/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 931 MW at 18:30 as VIC spot hit $90/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 188 MW at 19:30 as SA spot hit $85/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 2,958 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $88/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1QLD | 4,826MWh | -909 |
#2VIC | 3,166MWh | +879 |
#3NSW | 2,822MWh | +586 |
#4SA | 895MWh | +90 |
Generation Mix
- Coal69.9% · 138.3 GWh
- Gas0.6% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro4.0% · 8.0 GWh
- Wind14.9% · 29.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)1.8% · 3.6 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)6.6% · 13.1 GWh
- Battery1.4% · 2.8 GWh
- Other0.8% · 1.5 GWh
- Coal58.1% · 116.4 GWh
- Gas1.7% · 3.3 GWh
- Hydro1.5% · 3.0 GWh
- Wind12.8% · 25.6 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.1% · 22.2 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.4% · 24.9 GWh
- Battery2.4% · 4.8 GWh
- Other0.2% · 0.3 GWh
- Coal52.7% · 89.4 GWh
- Hydro3.2% · 5.5 GWh
- Wind39.9% · 67.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)0.4% · 0.7 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)1.3% · 2.2 GWh
- Battery1.9% · 3.2 GWh
- Other0.5% · 0.9 GWh
- Gas6.1% · 3.2 GWh
- Wind84.1% · 43.3 GWh
- Solar (utility)1.6% · 0.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)6.2% · 3.2 GWh
- Battery1.7% · 0.9 GWh
- Other0.2% · 0.1 GWh
- Gas12.0% · 3.3 GWh
- Hydro68.3% · 18.7 GWh
- Wind17.6% · 4.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)2.0% · 0.6 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 24.5%
- VIC 49.0%
- QLD 47.6%
- SA 114.1%
- TAS 78.1%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +52.9 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −68.8 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +7.4 GWh | 3 | — |
| V-SA | +18.4 GWh | 0 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | −2.3 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 | 121.3k tCO₂ | 0.618 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 103.3k tCO₂ | 0.509 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 1.6k tCO₂ | 0.032 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 106.2k tCO₂ | 0.630 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.0k tCO₂ | 0.073 tCO₂/MWh |