Monday 17 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-17
NEM average prices drop as renewables reach forty-four percent share
Regional average prices were tightly clustered between forty-six dollars and ninety cents in Tasmania and fifty-eight dollars and fifty cents in New South Wales. Negative pricing occurred in Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania, with Victoria recording twelve negative intervals and a minimum price of negative eight dollars and fifty cents.
System demand peaked in New South Wales at ten thousand nine hundred and fifty-two megawatts during the evening peak at eighteen twenty-five. Queensland and South Australia also saw evening peaks, while Victoria and Tasmania reached their maximum demand during the morning period.
Renewable generation reached an instantaneous peak of sixty-three percent at thirteen hundred hours, supported by a combined solar contribution of nearly eighteen percent. Coal provided fifty-two percent of the mix, while batteries discharged over eighteen gigawatt hours despite a net negative energy position.
Frequency control costs were highest in the regulation services, with Tasmania recording peak prices of twenty-three dollars for both raise and lower regulation. Total daily emissions fell by over two percent compared to the same day last week, settling at three hundred and forty-eight thousand tonnes.
Today · Pre-dispatch forecasts indicate a significant price peak in Queensland of three hundred and nineteen dollars at nineteen thirty.
Why it matters · The daily average of fifty-one dollars and sixty cents places the market well below the weekly average of sixty-seven dollars, breaking a recent three-day run of higher prices. This price softening occurred alongside a forty-four percent renewable share and negative pricing in three regions, despite coal maintaining a majority share of the generation mix.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $59 | $60 | $8 | $90 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $49 | $52 | $0 | $89 | 0 | 0 |
| SA | $49 | $51 | -$7 | $88 | 4 | 0 |
| VIC | $48 | $52 | -$9 | $91 | 12 | 0 |
| TAS | $47 | $49 | -$9 | $89 | 10 | 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 | $6,491 | 0 | $18 | 18 Aug, 01:55 |
| LOWERREG | $1,231 | 0 | $8 | 17 Aug, 15:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $295 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $284 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $154 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 11:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $81 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 15:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $59 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $37 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 11:15 |
| Total | $8,632 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,120 | 0 | $18 | 18 Aug, 01:55 |
| LOWERREG | $3,843 | 0 | $8 | 17 Aug, 15:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $262 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 11:05 |
| RAISE6SEC | $208 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $184 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $92 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 15:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $44 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 11:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $26 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| Total | $12,780 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,896 | 0 | $18 | 18 Aug, 01:55 |
| LOWERREG | $3,196 | 0 | $8 | 17 Aug, 15:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $566 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| RAISE6SEC | $518 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $164 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 11:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $124 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $44 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 15:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $34 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 11:15 |
| Total | $11,542 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $4,287 | 0 | $18 | 18 Aug, 01:55 |
| LOWERREG | $4,005 | 0 | $8 | 17 Aug, 15:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $411 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $375 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $267 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 11:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $98 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 15:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $74 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $62 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 11:15 |
| Total | $9,580 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,309 | 0 | $23 | 17 Aug, 16:30 |
| LOWERREG | $5,796 | 0 | $23 | 17 Aug, 14:10 |
| LOWER6SEC | $736 | 0 | $5 | 17 Aug, 16:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $719 | 0 | $3 | 17 Aug, 08:40 |
| RAISE6SEC | $699 | 0 | $3 | 17 Aug, 16:25 |
| LOWER60SEC | $325 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 04:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $39 | 0 | $1 | 18 Aug, 02:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $11 | 0 | $0 | 17 Aug, 06:10 |
| Total | $17,634 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,683 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $84/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,248 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $81/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,073 MW at 19:00 as VIC spot hit $84/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 364 MW at 19:30 as SA spot hit $79/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 4,323 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $79/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,321MWh | +129 |
#2VIC | 5,483MWh | -245 |
#3QLD | 4,716MWh | -723 |
#4SA | 2,152MWh | +320 |
Generation Mix
- Coal57.8% · 131.6 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro4.8% · 11.0 GWh
- Wind15.1% · 34.3 GWh
- Solar (utility)10.1% · 23.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)8.4% · 19.2 GWh
- Battery2.8% · 6.3 GWh
- Other0.5% · 1.0 GWh
- Coal56.8% · 111.4 GWh
- Gas1.5% · 3.0 GWh
- Hydro1.7% · 3.3 GWh
- Wind15.3% · 30.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)9.7% · 19.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.5% · 24.6 GWh
- Battery2.4% · 4.7 GWh
- Other0.1% · 0.2 GWh
- Coal63.3% · 109.8 GWh
- Hydro2.0% · 3.4 GWh
- Wind16.3% · 28.3 GWh
- Solar (utility)4.6% · 8.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)10.6% · 18.4 GWh
- Battery3.2% · 5.5 GWh
- Gas4.5% · 2.0 GWh
- Wind77.9% · 34.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)3.2% · 1.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)8.7% · 3.9 GWh
- Battery4.9% · 2.2 GWh
- Other0.7% · 0.3 GWh
- Gas12.0% · 3.7 GWh
- Hydro77.1% · 23.9 GWh
- Wind6.8% · 2.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.0% · 1.2 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 38.5%
- VIC 37.1%
- QLD 45.9%
- SA 92.1%
- TAS 85.7%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +29.5 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −31.2 GWh | 8 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +12.8 GWh | 24 | — |
| V-SA | −5.5 GWh | 11 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | −2.2 GWh | 4 | — |
Per-region net of NETINTERCHANGE proxied to a representative interconnector. Full per-interconnector decomposition + hours-at-limit needs DINTERCONNECTOR parsing (follow-up).
Emissions
| NSW | 115.3k tCO₂ | 0.501 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 99.2k tCO₂ | 0.500 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 875 tCO₂ | 0.019 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 130.6k tCO₂ | 0.742 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.2k tCO₂ | 0.073 tCO₂/MWh |