Friday 14 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-14
Queensland price volatility contrasts with South Australian premium as NEM averages rise
Regional price outcomes varied significantly, with South Australia averaging $153.10/MWh and Queensland averaging $64.00/MWh despite 162 negative intervals. New South Wales and Victoria recorded similar averages near $97/MWh, while Tasmania settled at $87.70/MWh. Maximum prices reached $315.70/MWh in South Australia, the highest in the NEM.
Operational demand peaked earliest in New South Wales at 07:25, followed by evening peaks across the remaining regions between 18:20 and 20:20. Total energy consumption for the day was highest in New South Wales at 394.2 GWh. Queensland and Victoria followed with 276.9 GWh and 295.1 GWh respectively.
Renewables reached an instantaneous penetration of 63.3% at 12:05, contributing a 36.1% daily share. Solar rooftop and utility solar combined for 19.2% of total generation, while wind and hydro provided 8.3% and 8.1%. Coal remained the primary fuel source at 56.5% of the mix.
Battery storage discharged 17,147 MWh to the grid, representing 2.6% of the total generation share. FCAS costs were led by Regulation services, with Raise Regulation in Tasmania peaking at $42.00/MWh. Total daily emissions were 380,786 tonnes of CO2, a 0.9% increase compared to the same day last week.
Today · Forecasts indicate a peak price of $319.04/MWh in Queensland at 19:30, with other regional peaks ranging from $61.84/MWh to $145.00/MWh.
Why it matters · The daily average of $100.00/MWh sits 72.1% above the weekly average, extending a four-day rising trend to reach a seven-day high. This price escalation occurred despite a robust 63.3% instantaneous renewable peak and significant battery participation, as high South Australian prices and coal reliance offset the impact of Queensland's negative intervals.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $96 | $100 | -$2 | $182 | 2 | 0 |
| QLD | $64 | $72 | -$9 | $165 | 162 | 0 |
| SA | $153 | $150 | $88 | $316 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $97 | $99 | $17 | $177 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | $88 | $89 | $17 | $158 | 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 | $6,443 | 0 | $25 | 14 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWERREG | $1,312 | 0 | $25 | 14 Aug, 15:25 |
| LOWER60SEC | $560 | 0 | $1 | 14 Aug, 15:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $318 | 0 | $2 | 14 Aug, 15:20 |
| LOWER6SEC | $271 | 0 | $1 | 14 Aug, 14:05 |
| RAISE6SEC | $221 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 18:20 |
| RAISE60SEC | $136 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 04:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $52 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 20:30 |
| Total | $9,313 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,212 | 0 | $25 | 14 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWERREG | $5,012 | 0 | $25 | 14 Aug, 15:25 |
| LOWER60SEC | $975 | 0 | $1 | 14 Aug, 15:20 |
| LOWER6SEC | $418 | 0 | $1 | 14 Aug, 14:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $387 | 0 | $2 | 14 Aug, 15:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $341 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 18:20 |
| RAISE60SEC | $183 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 04:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $39 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 20:30 |
| Total | $15,568 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,373 | 0 | $25 | 14 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWERREG | $5,072 | 0 | $25 | 14 Aug, 15:25 |
| LOWER60SEC | $1,686 | 0 | $1 | 14 Aug, 15:20 |
| LOWER6SEC | $645 | 0 | $1 | 14 Aug, 14:05 |
| RAISE6SEC | $618 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 18:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $488 | 0 | $2 | 14 Aug, 15:20 |
| RAISE60SEC | $487 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 04:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $134 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 20:30 |
| Total | $17,502 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $7,763 | 0 | $25 | 14 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWERREG | $2,985 | 0 | $24 | 14 Aug, 15:25 |
| RAISE6SEC | $1,983 | 0 | $2 | 14 Aug, 06:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $1,598 | 0 | $1 | 15 Aug, 00:40 |
| RAISE5MIN | $587 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 06:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $158 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 15:25 |
| LOWER5MIN | $116 | 0 | $1 | 14 Aug, 15:30 |
| LOWER6SEC | $47 | 0 | $0 | 15 Aug, 03:25 |
| Total | $15,237 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $10,889 | 0 | $42 | 14 Aug, 16:30 |
| LOWERREG | $4,131 | 0 | $34 | 14 Aug, 14:55 |
| LOWER60SEC | $291 | 0 | $1 | 14 Aug, 14:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $193 | 0 | $2 | 14 Aug, 15:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $174 | 0 | $3 | 14 Aug, 14:45 |
| RAISE6SEC | $127 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 10:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $126 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 10:50 |
| RAISE5MIN | $30 | 0 | $0 | 14 Aug, 13:50 |
| Total | $15,961 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 942 MW at 18:00 as NSW spot hit $173/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,237 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $135/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 837 MW at 20:30 as VIC spot hit $111/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 297 MW at 08:30 as SA spot hit $191/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 2,992 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $134/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 5,934MWh | +622 |
#2QLD | 5,085MWh | -837 |
#3VIC | 4,857MWh | -975 |
#4SA | 1,272MWh | -25 |
Generation Mix
- Coal66.1% · 147.0 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro5.7% · 12.6 GWh
- Wind2.5% · 5.6 GWh
- Solar (utility)8.6% · 19.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)13.3% · 29.5 GWh
- Battery2.7% · 5.9 GWh
- Other0.7% · 1.5 GWh
- Coal60.0% · 122.1 GWh
- Gas2.0% · 4.1 GWh
- Hydro1.6% · 3.3 GWh
- Wind6.5% · 13.3 GWh
- Solar (utility)12.0% · 24.5 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)15.0% · 30.4 GWh
- Battery2.5% · 5.1 GWh
- Other0.3% · 0.7 GWh
- Coal64.7% · 107.6 GWh
- Gas2.5% · 4.2 GWh
- Hydro6.0% · 9.9 GWh
- Wind14.6% · 24.2 GWh
- Solar (utility)3.3% · 5.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)6.0% · 10.0 GWh
- Battery2.9% · 4.9 GWh
- Gas61.2% · 21.7 GWh
- Wind11.5% · 4.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)6.9% · 2.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)16.8% · 6.0 GWh
- Battery3.6% · 1.3 GWh
- Gas9.3% · 3.8 GWh
- Hydro68.7% · 27.9 GWh
- Wind19.7% · 8.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)2.3% · 1.0 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 29.2%
- VIC 32.9%
- QLD 42.5%
- SA 31.9%
- TAS 115.1%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +40.0 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −32.6 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | −8.2 GWh | 19 | — |
| V-SA | −12.0 GWh | 2 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +17.8 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 | 128.9k tCO₂ | 0.577 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 109.4k tCO₂ | 0.531 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 10.7k tCO₂ | 0.295 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 129.5k tCO₂ | 0.771 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.3k tCO₂ | 0.057 tCO₂/MWh |