Thursday 27 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-27
Regional prices converge above one hundred dollars as coal dominates mix
Regional average prices were tightly clustered between 90.60 dollars in Queensland and 108.70 dollars in New South Wales. Despite several negative price intervals in Queensland, volume weighted average prices remained elevated across the mainland, peaking at 124.20 dollars in South Australia.
Demand peaked in the morning for southern regions while New South Wales and Queensland reached maximum loads of 9,672 megawatts and 7,582 megawatts during the evening. Total system energy requirements were met primarily by black and brown coal which accounted for 52.5 percent of the fuel mix.
Renewable generation reached an instantaneous peak of 71.3 percent at 13:45, supported by a combined solar contribution of 24.8 percent. Wind and hydro generation provided 5.7 percent and 8.5 percent respectively, while batteries discharged 18,866 megawatt hours to support the grid.
Frequency control ancillary services costs were most pronounced in the regulation markets, with Tasmania recording a peak price of 132 dollars for Raise Regulation. Interconnector flows showed significant transfers from New South Wales into Queensland and Victoria.
Today · Queensland is forecast to reach a peak price of 319.04 dollars at 19:30 this evening.
Why it matters · The daily average price sits 51.1 percent above the seven-day mean, extending a three-day upward trend that has now broken the previous weekly range. This price escalation occurred despite a healthy 71.3 percent instantaneous renewable peak, as high evening demand coincided with a 52.5 percent reliance on coal.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $109 | $113 | -$1 | $300 | 2 | 0 |
| QLD | $91 | $100 | -$4 | $290 | 6 | 0 |
| SA | $106 | $124 | -$1 | $247 | 2 | 0 |
| VIC | $107 | $115 | -$1 | $299 | 2 | 0 |
| TAS | $97 | $101 | -$1 | $269 | 2 | 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 | $4,751 | 0 | $31 | 27 Aug, 06:25 |
| LOWERREG | $1,380 | 0 | $15 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $176 | 0 | $4 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $134 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:20 |
| RAISE60SEC | $113 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:15 |
| LOWER5MIN | $111 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 14:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $68 | 0 | $1 | 27 Aug, 13:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $36 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:15 |
| Total | $6,769 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $7,604 | 0 | $31 | 27 Aug, 06:25 |
| LOWERREG | $4,191 | 0 | $15 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $678 | 0 | $4 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $396 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:20 |
| RAISE60SEC | $314 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $301 | 0 | $1 | 27 Aug, 13:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $226 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 14:50 |
| RAISE5MIN | $43 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:15 |
| Total | $13,752 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $14,054 | 0 | $31 | 27 Aug, 06:25 |
| LOWERREG | $3,507 | 0 | $15 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $806 | 0 | $4 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER5MIN | $278 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 14:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $274 | 0 | $1 | 27 Aug, 13:20 |
| RAISE60SEC | $222 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:15 |
| RAISE6SEC | $213 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $85 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:15 |
| Total | $19,439 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,860 | 0 | $31 | 27 Aug, 06:25 |
| LOWERREG | $4,921 | 0 | $15 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $530 | 0 | $4 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $294 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:20 |
| RAISE60SEC | $256 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:15 |
| LOWER5MIN | $255 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 14:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $198 | 0 | $1 | 27 Aug, 13:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $52 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 06:15 |
| Total | $13,365 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $13,895 | 0 | $132 | 27 Aug, 06:40 |
| LOWERREG | $4,510 | 0 | $50 | 27 Aug, 12:55 |
| RAISE6SEC | $551 | 0 | $3 | 27 Aug, 08:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $426 | 0 | $3 | 27 Aug, 08:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $180 | 0 | $3 | 27 Aug, 09:15 |
| LOWER60SEC | $173 | 0 | $4 | 27 Aug, 15:10 |
| LOWER5MIN | $31 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 14:50 |
| RAISE5MIN | $21 | 0 | $0 | 27 Aug, 08:35 |
| Total | $19,788 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,431 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $148/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,145 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $144/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 925 MW at 07:00 as VIC spot hit $281/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 311 MW at 19:00 as SA spot hit $135/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,326 MW at 19:00 as TAS spot hit $115/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 7,694MWh | +77 |
#2QLD | 5,248MWh | -936 |
#3VIC | 4,235MWh | -482 |
#4SA | 1,689MWh | -182 |
Generation Mix
- Coal61.6% · 130.0 GWh
- Gas1.0% · 2.0 GWh
- Hydro5.1% · 10.8 GWh
- Wind1.7% · 3.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)14.3% · 30.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.5% · 26.4 GWh
- Battery3.6% · 7.7 GWh
- Other0.3% · 0.6 GWh
- Coal58.1% · 118.7 GWh
- Gas2.2% · 4.4 GWh
- Hydro2.1% · 4.3 GWh
- Wind6.6% · 13.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)12.9% · 26.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)15.5% · 31.6 GWh
- Battery2.6% · 5.2 GWh
- Coal59.1% · 96.3 GWh
- Gas5.0% · 8.1 GWh
- Hydro8.0% · 13.0 GWh
- Wind5.8% · 9.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.4% · 12.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.1% · 19.8 GWh
- Battery2.6% · 4.2 GWh
- Gas44.1% · 19.3 GWh
- Wind17.6% · 7.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)9.1% · 4.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)25.3% · 11.1 GWh
- Battery3.9% · 1.7 GWh
- Gas8.9% · 3.2 GWh
- Hydro78.3% · 27.6 GWh
- Wind8.7% · 3.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.0% · 1.4 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 33.4%
- VIC 35.4%
- QLD 44.6%
- SA 55.8%
- TAS 103.0%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +34.4 GWh | 2 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −26.6 GWh | 8 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | −12.5 GWh | 20 | — |
| V-SA | −226 MWh | 34 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +8.5 GWh | 3 | — |
Per-region net of NETINTERCHANGE proxied to a representative interconnector. Full per-interconnector decomposition + hours-at-limit needs DINTERCONNECTOR parsing (follow-up).
Emissions
| NSW | 114.3k tCO₂ | 0.531 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 105.5k tCO₂ | 0.511 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 9.5k tCO₂ | 0.211 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 118.3k tCO₂ | 0.721 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 1.9k tCO₂ | 0.055 tCO₂/MWh |