Saturday 22 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-22
South Australian prices diverge as NEM renewable share peaks near seventy percent
Daily average prices across the NEM ranged from $59.50/MWh in Tasmania to $108.30/MWh in South Australia. New South Wales and Queensland recorded averages of $73.90/MWh and $81.10/MWh respectively. Negative pricing was frequent in the southern regions, with Victoria and Tasmania experiencing 56 and 50 negative intervals during the day.
Operational demand peaked across all regions between 18:05 and 19:00, led by New South Wales at 8,907 MW. Total system emissions reached 313,105 tCO2, representing a 15.4% decrease compared to the same day last week. Coal remained the primary generation source at 52.0% of the total mix.
Renewables contributed 44.1% of total energy for the day, supported by a combined solar share of 19.4% and wind at 16.9%. Battery storage systems discharged 18,002 MWh into the grid, though the fleet ended the day as a net consumer of 1,679 MWh. Hydro generation provided a further 5.9% of the total generation mix.
FCAS costs were dominated by regulation services, with Raise Regulation totaling $39,451 and Lower Regulation reaching $30,048. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Victoria into New South Wales at 22,881 MWh. Queensland exported a net 7,745 MWh to New South Wales via the primary interconnector.
Today · Pre-dispatch 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 $65.30/MWh sits 26.5% above the 7-day average, extending a three-day upward trend in NEM pricing. This price rise occurred despite a significant 15.4% drop in emissions and a high 69.5% renewable peak, highlighting a widening price spread between South Australia and the rest of the mainland.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $74 | $81 | -$8 | $143 | 52 | 0 |
| QLD | $81 | $83 | -$0 | $133 | 2 | 0 |
| SA | $108 | $115 | $0 | $264 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $61 | $67 | -$8 | $170 | 56 | 0 |
| TAS | $60 | $63 | -$8 | $152 | 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 | $4,823 | 0 | $28 | 22 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWERREG | $1,199 | 0 | $14 | 22 Aug, 16:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $174 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $113 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $90 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 18:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $77 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 19:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $60 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 13:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $27 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 05:40 |
| Total | $6,561 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,390 | 0 | $28 | 22 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWERREG | $5,897 | 0 | $14 | 22 Aug, 16:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $456 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $286 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 18:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $221 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 19:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $203 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $163 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 13:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $30 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 05:40 |
| Total | $15,646 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $11,273 | 0 | $28 | 22 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWERREG | $5,317 | 0 | $14 | 22 Aug, 16:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $607 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $211 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 13:00 |
| RAISE6SEC | $210 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 18:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $209 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 19:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $193 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| RAISE5MIN | $79 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 05:40 |
| Total | $18,099 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $5,818 | 0 | $28 | 22 Aug, 16:40 |
| LOWERREG | $4,449 | 0 | $14 | 22 Aug, 16:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $446 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $300 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $257 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 05:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $218 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 05:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $169 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 13:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $43 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 05:40 |
| Total | $11,699 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOWERREG | $13,187 | 0 | $89 | 22 Aug, 10:00 |
| RAISEREG | $9,148 | 0 | $15 | 22 Aug, 15:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $354 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 04:05 |
| RAISE6SEC | $354 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 04:05 |
| LOWER6SEC | $254 | 0 | $16 | 22 Aug, 16:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $69 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 15:35 |
| LOWER60SEC | $55 | 0 | $1 | 22 Aug, 16:35 |
| RAISE5MIN | $6 | 0 | $0 | 22 Aug, 16:35 |
| Total | $23,425 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,048 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $113/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,259 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $110/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 680 MW at 19:30 as VIC spot hit $105/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 338 MW at 19:30 as SA spot hit $161/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,050 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $98/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,797MWh | -711 |
#2QLD | 5,832MWh | -254 |
#3VIC | 3,556MWh | -586 |
#4SA | 1,818MWh | -128 |
Generation Mix
- Coal55.6% · 114.0 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro2.6% · 5.4 GWh
- Wind12.2% · 24.9 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.2% · 22.9 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)14.6% · 29.9 GWh
- Battery3.3% · 6.8 GWh
- Coal66.5% · 117.6 GWh
- Gas1.2% · 2.2 GWh
- Hydro2.6% · 4.6 GWh
- Wind6.1% · 10.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)10.2% · 18.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)9.5% · 16.7 GWh
- Battery3.3% · 5.8 GWh
- Other0.6% · 1.1 GWh
- Coal50.6% · 86.5 GWh
- Gas0.6% · 1.0 GWh
- Hydro5.6% · 9.6 GWh
- Wind29.0% · 49.6 GWh
- Solar (utility)4.3% · 7.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)7.7% · 13.2 GWh
- Battery2.1% · 3.6 GWh
- Gas41.6% · 13.0 GWh
- Wind23.1% · 7.2 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.5% · 2.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)21.9% · 6.8 GWh
- Battery5.8% · 1.8 GWh
- Gas0.8% · 0.2 GWh
- Hydro57.6% · 16.7 GWh
- Wind37.3% · 10.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.3% · 1.2 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 42.2%
- VIC 55.0%
- QLD 33.0%
- SA 45.9%
- TAS 94.5%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +2.8 GWh | 6 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −7.7 GWh | 14 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +22.9 GWh | 3 | — |
| V-SA | −15.9 GWh | 7 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +1.1 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 | 99.5k tCO₂ | 0.476 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 103.8k tCO₂ | 0.579 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 6.3k tCO₂ | 0.196 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 103.2k tCO₂ | 0.604 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 159 tCO₂ | 0.006 tCO₂/MWh |