NEM
NEM Daily analysis

Friday 21 August 2026

Trading day 2026-08-21

Market Snapshot

Queensland price volatility contrasts with broad NEM average price declines

Regional price spreads were significant, ranging from a low of $30.00/MWh in Victoria to $97.20/MWh in South Australia. Queensland experienced 140 negative price intervals, yet its VWAP remained at $49.30/MWh. New South Wales saw the highest peak demand of 9,362 MW at 18:05, contributing to a total regional energy consumption of 371.7 GWh.

Coal provided 52.6% of the generation mix, while the combined renewable share peaked at 65.6% during the midday period. Wind and rooftop solar contributed 17.5% and 11.4% respectively. Battery storage discharged 18,327 MWh throughout the day, though the fleet remained a net consumer of 2,692 MWh.

FCAS costs were highlighted by a spike in the Lower 6-Second service in Tasmania, which reached a peak price of $2,944.00/MWh. Total daily emissions across the NEM were 341,278 tCO2, representing a 10.4% decrease compared to the same day last week.

Today · Pre-dispatch forecasts indicate a peak price of $319.04/MWh in Queensland at 19:30, with other regions peaking between $61.84/MWh and $145.00/MWh.

Why it matters · The daily average of $55.60/MWh sits 4.2% below the 7-day average, continuing a volatile trend following two days of sub-$31 prices. The market saw a rare combination of 140 negative intervals in Queensland alongside a 10.4% drop in emissions and elevated FCAS costs in Tasmania.

NSW $63VIC $30QLD $44SA $97TAS $37
Numbers-only recap · gemini-3-flash-preview

Prices

Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average

NSW VIC QLD SA TAS
$0 $25 $50 $75 $100 $0 $25 $50 $75 $100 -$10 $18 $45 $73 $100 $0 $63 $125 $188 $250 $0 $25 $50 $75 $100 04:00 10:00 16:00 22:00 04:00
Region Avg VWAP Min Max Neg Cap
NSW $63 $64 $21 $99 0 0
QLD $44 $49 -$7 $90 140 0
SA $97 $103 $14 $376 0 0
VIC $30 $32 -$0 $79 2 0
TAS $37 $38 $4 $90 0 0

Min · Max are 5-minute dispatch extremes; the price chart plots 30-minute averages, so its peak reads lower.

Demand

NSW
Peak
9,362MW
18:05
Trough
6,392MW
12:40
Energy
371.7GWh
QLD
Peak
7,331MW
18:30
Trough
3,662MW
12:40
Energy
273.6GWh
SA
Peak
1,908MW
19:10
Trough
689MW
14:35
Energy
67.4GWh
VIC
Peak
7,387MW
07:40
Trough
4,552MW
03:55
Energy
288.6GWh
TAS
Peak
1,297MW
07:35
Trough
838MW
01:45
Energy
51.1GWh

FCAS

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$3,4100$2021 Aug, 14:15
LOWERREG$5400$821 Aug, 14:30
RAISE60SEC$1660$021 Aug, 07:00
LOWER60SEC$1510$021 Aug, 10:55
LOWER5MIN$1380$021 Aug, 15:20
RAISE6SEC$1100$021 Aug, 07:00
RAISE5MIN$470$021 Aug, 07:55
LOWER6SEC$430$021 Aug, 13:10
Total$4,605

Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$6,3480$2021 Aug, 14:15
LOWERREG$3,7850$821 Aug, 14:30
LOWER60SEC$3540$021 Aug, 10:55
RAISE60SEC$2400$021 Aug, 07:00
RAISE6SEC$2220$021 Aug, 07:00
LOWER5MIN$1630$021 Aug, 15:20
LOWER6SEC$750$021 Aug, 13:10
RAISE5MIN$570$021 Aug, 07:00
Total$11,244

Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$10,7640$2021 Aug, 14:15
LOWERREG$3,4920$821 Aug, 14:30
LOWER60SEC$2800$021 Aug, 10:55
RAISE60SEC$2780$021 Aug, 07:00
RAISE6SEC$2150$021 Aug, 07:00
LOWER5MIN$1560$021 Aug, 15:20
RAISE5MIN$850$021 Aug, 07:55
LOWER6SEC$410$021 Aug, 13:10
Total$15,311

Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$5,1060$2021 Aug, 14:15
LOWERREG$4,3070$821 Aug, 14:30
RAISE6SEC$2,2120$121 Aug, 09:40
RAISE60SEC$2,1420$021 Aug, 06:05
RAISE5MIN$1,1520$021 Aug, 08:55
LOWER60SEC$2660$021 Aug, 10:55
LOWER5MIN$1650$021 Aug, 15:20
LOWER6SEC$770$021 Aug, 13:10
Total$15,427

Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
LOWER6SEC$67,8272$2,94422 Aug, 01:10
RAISEREG$9,8140$822 Aug, 01:10
LOWERREG$5,5680$6222 Aug, 03:10
RAISE6SEC$1,8940$3221 Aug, 15:55
RAISE60SEC$1,5880$321 Aug, 20:35
LOWER60SEC$2910$021 Aug, 09:25
RAISE5MIN$1320$021 Aug, 09:20
LOWER5MIN$240$021 Aug, 15:20
Total$87,138

Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

Battery dispatch

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,060 MW at 18:00 as NSW spot hit $85/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,319 MW at 18:00 as QLD spot hit $82/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,028 MW at 18:30 as VIC spot hit $68/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 253 MW at 19:00 as SA spot hit $240/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 3,483 MW at 18:00 as TAS spot hit $67/MWh.

Discharged
6,165MWh
peak 1,060 MW · 18:00
Charged
6,125MWh
peak 1,056 MW
Net
+40MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
101%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
5,016MWh
peak 1,319 MW · 18:00
Charged
6,380MWh
peak 1,319 MW
Net
-1,364MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
79%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
5,321MWh
peak 1,028 MW · 18:30
Charged
6,523MWh
peak 959 MW
Net
-1,201MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
82%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
1,825MWh
peak 253 MW · 19:00
Charged
1,992MWh
peak 262 MW
Net
-167MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
92%
discharge / charge ratio
NEM-wide
Discharged
18,327MWh
peak 3,483 MW · 18:00
Charged
21,019MWh
peak 2,940 MW
Net
-2,692MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
87%
discharge / charge ratio

Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average

Net MWdischarge ↑ · charge ↓NSWQLDVICSATAS$/MWh
-4.0 GW-2.0 GW0 MW2.0 GW4.0 GW-$100$0$100$200$30023:3006:3713:4520:5204:00

Regional dispatch ranking

RegionDischargedNet
#1NSW
6,165MWh
+40
#2VIC
5,321MWh
-1,201
#3QLD
5,016MWh
-1,364
#4SA
1,825MWh
-167

Generation Mix

TOP FUEL 64.4%
  • Coal64.4% · 127.6 GWh
  • Gas0.6% · 1.2 GWh
  • Hydro2.6% · 5.2 GWh
  • Wind10.5% · 20.9 GWh
  • Solar (utility)6.8% · 13.4 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)11.5% · 22.9 GWh
  • Battery3.1% · 6.2 GWh
  • Other0.4% · 0.9 GWh
TOP FUEL 55.9%
  • Coal55.9% · 111.8 GWh
  • Gas1.4% · 2.8 GWh
  • Hydro1.5% · 2.9 GWh
  • Wind10.1% · 20.2 GWh
  • Solar (utility)12.4% · 24.8 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)16.2% · 32.3 GWh
  • Battery2.5% · 5.0 GWh
TOP FUEL 55.9%
  • Coal55.9% · 104.0 GWh
  • Hydro2.7% · 4.9 GWh
  • Wind29.3% · 54.4 GWh
  • Solar (utility)3.2% · 6.0 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)6.1% · 11.4 GWh
  • Battery2.9% · 5.3 GWh
TOP FUEL 40.4%
  • Gas40.4% · 14.3 GWh
  • Wind29.5% · 10.5 GWh
  • Solar (utility)5.2% · 1.8 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)19.9% · 7.1 GWh
  • Battery5.1% · 1.8 GWh
TOP FUEL 72.4%
  • Hydro72.4% · 24.9 GWh
  • Wind24.9% · 8.6 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)2.7% · 0.9 GWh
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopotherBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:0010.6 GW 0
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:0010.2 GW 0
coalhydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:009.5 GW 0
gasbattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:002.0 GW 0
hydrowindsolar rooftop
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:001.8 GW 0

Renewables

NSW · Daily renewable share
31.2%
VIC · Daily renewable share
48.5%
QLD · Daily renewable share
47.6%
SA · Daily renewable share
48.8%
TAS · Daily renewable share
110.5%
Peak instantaneous
65.6%
at 11:55
Daily NEM-wide share
43.5%
By region (daily share)
  • NSW
    31.2%
  • VIC
    48.5%
  • QLD
    47.6%
  • SA
    48.8%
  • TAS
    110.5%

Interconnectors

Region (proxy) Net flow Direction changes Hours at limit
N-Q-MNSP1 +34.3 GWh 0 —
NSW1-QLD1 −53.2 GWh 0 —
VIC1-NSW1 +31.7 GWh 14 —
V-SA −11.1 GWh 2 —
T-V-MNSP1 +4.0 GWh 6 —

Per-region net of NETINTERCHANGE proxied to a representative interconnector. Full per-interconnector decomposition + hours-at-limit needs DINTERCONNECTOR parsing (follow-up).

Emissions

Total emissions
341.3k tCO₂
▼ 10.4% vs same day last week
Intensity by region
NSW 111.2k tCO₂ 0.554 tCO₂/MWh
QLD 99.4k tCO₂ 0.490 tCO₂/MWh
SA 6.9k tCO₂ 0.188 tCO₂/MWh
VIC 123.8k tCO₂ 0.658 tCO₂/MWh
TAS 7 tCO₂ 0.000 tCO₂/MWh