NEM
NEM Daily analysis

Wednesday 26 August 2026

Trading day 2026-08-26

Market Snapshot

NEM average prices surge as South Australia reaches daily peak average

Regional average prices ranged from 87.9 $/MWh in Tasmania to 143.3 $/MWh in South Australia. Queensland saw the most frequent negative pricing with 16 intervals, while South Australia remained positive throughout the entire trading day.

System demand peaked at 18:05 in New South Wales at 9,766 MW, contributing to a total regional energy requirement of 385.1 GWh. All mainland regions experienced their highest demand levels during the early evening window.

Renewables achieved a 36.3% share of the total generation mix, reaching an instantaneous peak of 62.2% at 14:40. Solar utility and rooftop sources combined for 19.9%, while wind and hydro contributed 8.4% and 7.7% respectively.

Batteries discharged 17,464 MWh to the grid, resulting in a net consumption of 1,919 MWh after charging. Total market emissions rose 18.0% compared to the same day last week, reaching 368,471 tonnes of CO2.

Today · Predispatch forecasts a peak price of 319.04 $/MWh in Queensland at 19:30 tonight.

Why it matters · The daily average of 98.2 $/MWh sits 66.7% above the 7-day average, extending a three-day upward trend in market costs. This price escalation coincided with an 18% weekly rise in emissions and a reliance on battery discharge for 2.7% of total generation.

NSW $104VIC $96QLD $89SA $143TAS $88
Numbers-only recap · gemini-3-flash-preview

Prices

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

NSW VIC QLD SA TAS
$0 $40 $80 $120 $160 $0 $38 $75 $113 $150 -$10 $28 $65 $103 $140 $0 $63 $125 $188 $250 $0 $35 $70 $105 $140 04:00 10:00 16:00 22:00 04:00
Region Avg VWAP Min Max Neg Cap
NSW $104 $105 -$2 $161 6 0
QLD $89 $91 -$6 $140 16 0
SA $143 $141 $49 $255 0 0
VIC $96 $100 -$4 $158 8 0
TAS $88 $90 -$4 $142 8 0

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

Demand

NSW
Peak
9,766MW
18:05
Trough
6,813MW
04:30
Energy
385.1GWh
QLD
Peak
7,637MW
18:00
Trough
4,543MW
13:55
Energy
296.1GWh
SA
Peak
2,086MW
19:00
Trough
968MW
13:50
Energy
71.2GWh
VIC
Peak
7,558MW
18:50
Trough
4,416MW
14:15
Energy
275.7GWh
TAS
Peak
1,334MW
18:55
Trough
734MW
15:45
Energy
53.6GWh

FCAS

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$4,3220$2026 Aug, 15:50
LOWERREG$1,5260$1426 Aug, 15:05
RAISE6SEC$1260$026 Aug, 07:35
LOWER60SEC$1120$026 Aug, 13:35
RAISE60SEC$990$026 Aug, 07:35
LOWER5MIN$900$026 Aug, 14:55
LOWER6SEC$750$026 Aug, 13:35
RAISE5MIN$330$026 Aug, 07:35
Total$6,385

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$11,1530$2026 Aug, 15:50
LOWERREG$5,0990$1426 Aug, 15:05
RAISE6SEC$3970$026 Aug, 07:35
RAISE60SEC$2940$026 Aug, 07:35
LOWER60SEC$2000$026 Aug, 13:35
LOWER5MIN$1420$026 Aug, 14:55
LOWER6SEC$1220$026 Aug, 13:35
RAISE5MIN$410$026 Aug, 07:35
Total$17,447

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$7,7520$2026 Aug, 15:50
LOWERREG$6,0650$1426 Aug, 15:05
LOWER60SEC$2650$026 Aug, 13:35
RAISE6SEC$2540$026 Aug, 07:35
RAISE60SEC$2410$026 Aug, 07:35
LOWER6SEC$1780$026 Aug, 13:35
LOWER5MIN$1100$026 Aug, 14:55
RAISE5MIN$930$026 Aug, 07:35
Total$14,958

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$8,1010$2026 Aug, 15:50
LOWERREG$4,8120$1426 Aug, 15:05
LOWER60SEC$3770$026 Aug, 13:35
RAISE6SEC$3290$026 Aug, 04:05
LOWER5MIN$2820$026 Aug, 14:55
LOWER6SEC$2770$026 Aug, 13:35
RAISE60SEC$2730$026 Aug, 04:05
RAISE5MIN$590$026 Aug, 07:35
Total$14,510

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$11,5400$4126 Aug, 23:15
LOWERREG$4,0990$3726 Aug, 15:00
RAISE60SEC$6890$326 Aug, 09:10
RAISE6SEC$3370$326 Aug, 09:05
LOWER6SEC$860$026 Aug, 15:55
LOWER60SEC$830$026 Aug, 09:10
LOWER5MIN$230$026 Aug, 14:55
RAISE5MIN$140$026 Aug, 09:00
Total$16,872

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

Battery dispatch

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,354 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $129/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,262 MW at 19:00 as QLD spot hit $109/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,100 MW at 07:30 as VIC spot hit $120/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 262 MW at 08:30 as SA spot hit $117/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 2,998 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $118/MWh.

Discharged
5,964MWh
peak 1,354 MW · 18:30
Charged
7,381MWh
peak 1,637 MW
Net
-1,418MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
81%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
5,171MWh
peak 1,262 MW · 19:00
Charged
5,833MWh
peak 1,776 MW
Net
-663MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
89%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
4,502MWh
peak 1,100 MW · 07:30
Charged
4,721MWh
peak 847 MW
Net
-219MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
95%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
1,828MWh
peak 262 MW · 08:30
Charged
1,448MWh
peak 371 MW
Net
+380MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
126%
discharge / charge ratio
NEM-wide
Discharged
17,464MWh
peak 2,998 MW · 18:30
Charged
19,383MWh
peak 3,927 MW
Net
-1,919MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
90%
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
5,964MWh
-1,418
#2QLD
5,171MWh
-663
#3VIC
4,502MWh
-219
#4SA
1,828MWh
+380

Generation Mix

TOP FUEL 64.7%
  • Coal64.7% · 134.1 GWh
  • Gas0.6% · 1.3 GWh
  • Hydro5.2% · 10.8 GWh
  • Wind4.6% · 9.5 GWh
  • Solar (utility)12.2% · 25.2 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)9.8% · 20.3 GWh
  • Battery2.9% · 6.0 GWh
TOP FUEL 65.1%
  • Coal65.1% · 129.0 GWh
  • Gas1.4% · 2.7 GWh
  • Hydro2.0% · 4.1 GWh
  • Wind7.0% · 13.8 GWh
  • Solar (utility)10.4% · 20.6 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)11.3% · 22.3 GWh
  • Battery2.6% · 5.2 GWh
  • Other0.2% · 0.5 GWh
TOP FUEL 59.9%
  • Coal59.9% · 103.3 GWh
  • Gas2.3% · 3.9 GWh
  • Hydro4.9% · 8.4 GWh
  • Wind13.3% · 22.9 GWh
  • Solar (utility)6.7% · 11.5 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)10.4% · 17.9 GWh
  • Battery2.6% · 4.5 GWh
TOP FUEL 56.0%
  • Gas56.0% · 21.1 GWh
  • Wind10.1% · 3.8 GWh
  • Solar (utility)8.9% · 3.3 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)19.1% · 7.2 GWh
  • Battery4.9% · 1.8 GWh
  • Other1.0% · 0.4 GWh
TOP FUEL 74.0%
  • Gas9.3% · 3.3 GWh
  • Hydro74.0% · 26.6 GWh
  • Wind13.4% · 4.8 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)3.3% · 1.2 GWh
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:0010.4 GW 0
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopotherBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:0010.0 GW 0
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:008.4 GW 0
gasbattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopotherBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:002.1 GW 0
gashydrowindsolar rooftop
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:001.9 GW 0

Renewables

NSW · Daily renewable share
30.0%
VIC · Daily renewable share
39.5%
QLD · Daily renewable share
36.9%
SA · Daily renewable share
35.6%
TAS · Daily renewable share
104.7%
Peak instantaneous
62.2%
at 14:40
Daily NEM-wide share
36.3%
By region (daily share)
  • NSW
    30.0%
  • VIC
    39.5%
  • QLD
    36.9%
  • SA
    35.6%
  • TAS
    104.7%

Interconnectors

Region (proxy) Net flow Direction changes Hours at limit
N-Q-MNSP1 +32.0 GWh 8 —
NSW1-QLD1 −33.2 GWh 2 —
VIC1-NSW1 +10.7 GWh 36 —
V-SA −16.6 GWh 0 —
T-V-MNSP1 +10.5 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

Total emissions
368.5k tCO₂
▲ 18.0% vs same day last week
Intensity by region
NSW 117.5k tCO₂ 0.558 tCO₂/MWh
QLD 114.4k tCO₂ 0.570 tCO₂/MWh
SA 10.5k tCO₂ 0.272 tCO₂/MWh
VIC 124.1k tCO₂ 0.715 tCO₂/MWh
TAS 2.0k tCO₂ 0.057 tCO₂/MWh