Sunday 23 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-23
Renewables reach 74 percent instantaneous share as prices remain below weekly average
Average regional prices ranged from 41.80 dollars in Tasmania to 55.90 dollars in New South Wales, with all regions seeing maximums above 110 dollars. Negative pricing was widespread across the southern and northern regions, with Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania each recording at least 100 negative intervals.
Coal remained the primary generation source at 52.1 percent, while the combined solar contribution from utility and rooftop sources reached 24.1 percent. Wind and hydro followed at 11.1 percent and 7.5 percent respectively, supporting an instantaneous renewable peak of 74 percent at 11:50.
Battery storage provided 2.8 percent of total dispatch, discharging 17,409 megawatt hours while maintaining a net consumption position of 2,833 megawatt hours. Total emissions for the day were 312,887 tonnes of carbon dioxide, representing a 6.3 percent decrease compared to the same day last week.
FCAS costs were relatively stable with no price spikes recorded across any service. The highest individual service cost was Raise Regulation in Tasmania at 35,864 dollars, while New South Wales saw the highest Lower Regulation costs at 17,264 dollars.
Today · Forward forecasts indicate a peak price of 319.04 dollars in Queensland at 19:30, with other regional peaks ranging from 61.84 to 145.00 dollars.
Why it matters · The daily average price sits 16.9 percent above the seven-day average, yet it breaks a two-day rising trend by retreating from the weekly high. This price softening occurred alongside a significant 6.3 percent drop in emissions and a high volume of negative intervals in four out of five regions.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $56 | $59 | -$2 | $122 | 2 | 0 |
| QLD | $42 | $49 | -$10 | $114 | 188 | 0 |
| SA | $44 | $56 | -$8 | $119 | 120 | 0 |
| VIC | $43 | $49 | -$9 | $124 | 118 | 0 |
| TAS | $42 | $44 | -$6 | $111 | 100 | 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 | $4,707 | 0 | $20 | 23 Aug, 06:30 |
| LOWERREG | $939 | 0 | $10 | 23 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $350 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER5MIN | $202 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 14:10 |
| LOWER6SEC | $134 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 14:25 |
| RAISE60SEC | $124 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $119 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:35 |
| RAISE5MIN | $35 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 06:05 |
| Total | $6,611 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,921 | 0 | $20 | 23 Aug, 06:30 |
| LOWERREG | $4,949 | 0 | $10 | 23 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $505 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $318 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $297 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $189 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 14:25 |
| LOWER5MIN | $120 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 14:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $37 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 06:05 |
| Total | $13,336 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,828 | 0 | $20 | 23 Aug, 06:30 |
| LOWERREG | $3,724 | 0 | $10 | 23 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $666 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE60SEC | $285 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $274 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 14:10 |
| LOWER6SEC | $250 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 14:25 |
| RAISE6SEC | $250 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:35 |
| RAISE5MIN | $100 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 06:05 |
| Total | $15,375 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $4,135 | 0 | $20 | 23 Aug, 06:30 |
| LOWERREG | $3,926 | 0 | $10 | 23 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $496 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $246 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $236 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $203 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 14:25 |
| LOWER5MIN | $187 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 14:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $57 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 06:05 |
| Total | $9,486 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $10,273 | 0 | $47 | 23 Aug, 04:40 |
| LOWERREG | $3,727 | 0 | $7 | 24 Aug, 00:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $560 | 0 | $3 | 24 Aug, 00:05 |
| RAISE6SEC | $508 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $189 | 0 | $8 | 24 Aug, 00:15 |
| LOWER60SEC | $69 | 0 | $1 | 23 Aug, 14:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $11 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 07:55 |
| LOWER5MIN | $1 | 0 | $0 | 23 Aug, 14:10 |
| Total | $15,338 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,599 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $85/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,458 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $78/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,180 MW at 18:30 as VIC spot hit $88/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 446 MW at 19:30 as SA spot hit $85/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 4,627 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $81/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,555MWh | -989 |
#2QLD | 4,805MWh | -1,477 |
#3VIC | 4,450MWh | -75 |
#4SA | 1,599MWh | -291 |
Generation Mix
- Coal57.2% · 115.0 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro5.9% · 11.8 GWh
- Wind5.4% · 10.9 GWh
- Solar (utility)15.0% · 30.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.7% · 25.6 GWh
- Battery3.3% · 6.6 GWh
- Coal58.6% · 112.7 GWh
- Gas1.3% · 2.5 GWh
- Hydro1.5% · 2.8 GWh
- Wind9.8% · 18.9 GWh
- Solar (utility)10.5% · 20.2 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)15.8% · 30.4 GWh
- Battery2.5% · 4.8 GWh
- Coal61.8% · 91.0 GWh
- Gas0.9% · 1.3 GWh
- Hydro4.5% · 6.7 GWh
- Wind10.7% · 15.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)6.3% · 9.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.8% · 18.8 GWh
- Battery3.0% · 4.4 GWh
- Gas23.6% · 9.1 GWh
- Wind41.9% · 16.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)5.6% · 2.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)24.8% · 9.5 GWh
- Battery4.2% · 1.6 GWh
- Gas1.1% · 0.3 GWh
- Hydro75.9% · 24.9 GWh
- Wind19.4% · 6.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)3.7% · 1.2 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 38.2%
- VIC 36.1%
- QLD 45.1%
- SA 78.1%
- TAS 104.2%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +34.9 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −38.7 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +7.3 GWh | 31 | — |
| V-SA | +3.1 GWh | 22 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | −1.8 GWh | 1 | — |
Per-region net of NETINTERCHANGE proxied to a representative interconnector. Full per-interconnector decomposition + hours-at-limit needs DINTERCONNECTOR parsing (follow-up).
Emissions
| NSW | 100.4k tCO₂ | 0.491 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 99.7k tCO₂ | 0.512 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 4.1k tCO₂ | 0.105 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 108.4k tCO₂ | 0.729 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 218 tCO₂ | 0.007 tCO₂/MWh |