Friday 28 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-28
Queensland price volatility persists as South Australia records highest regional average
Regional average prices ranged from $57.60/MWh in Queensland to $89.70/MWh in South Australia, with Queensland recording 68 negative price intervals and a minimum of -$10.30/MWh. New South Wales also saw 10 negative intervals, while prices in Victoria and Tasmania remained positive throughout the day with maximums reaching $141.60/MWh and $127.20/MWh respectively.
Evening demand peaks occurred between 18:00 and 19:00 across most regions, led by New South Wales at 9,477 MW and Victoria at 7,512 MW. Total system energy consumption was supported by a 39.3% renewable share, comprising 13.6% rooftop solar, 10.6% utility solar, 8.1% wind, and 7.2% hydro generation.
Batteries contributed 2.9% of the generation mix with 18,723 MWh discharged, though the fleet remained a net consumer with -2,998 MWh of net flow. FCAS costs were highest for Regulation services, with Raise Regulation in New South Wales totaling $34,624 and Lower Regulation in Tasmania reaching $16,444.
Total emissions reached 347,667 tonnes of CO2, representing a 1.9% increase compared to the same day last week. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from New South Wales to Queensland via the MNSP1 link, while Tasmania exported a net 12,681 MWh to Victoria.
Today · Predispatch forecasts indicate a peak price of $319.04/MWh in Queensland at 19:30, while other regions expect maximums between $61.84/MWh and $145.00/MWh.
Why it matters · The daily average of $76.80/MWh sits 3% above the 7-day average, breaking a three-day trend of rising prices that peaked at $104.10/MWh. This price correction occurred despite a high 68.8% instantaneous renewable peak and significant negative pricing in Queensland, as coal and gas still provided 57.7% of total energy.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $74 | $80 | -$9 | $135 | 10 | 0 |
| QLD | $58 | $64 | -$10 | $119 | 68 | 0 |
| SA | $90 | $100 | $11 | $198 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $79 | $80 | $4 | $142 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | $70 | $71 | $4 | $127 | 0 | 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 | $3,419 | 0 | $12 | 28 Aug, 08:20 |
| LOWERREG | $916 | 0 | $14 | 28 Aug, 15:25 |
| LOWER5MIN | $125 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 15:15 |
| RAISE6SEC | $109 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:15 |
| LOWER60SEC | $108 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 14:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $89 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:20 |
| LOWER6SEC | $49 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 15:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $30 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:30 |
| Total | $4,845 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,547 | 0 | $12 | 28 Aug, 08:20 |
| LOWERREG | $3,974 | 0 | $14 | 28 Aug, 15:25 |
| RAISE6SEC | $313 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:45 |
| LOWER60SEC | $236 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 14:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $222 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 19:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $151 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 15:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $81 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 15:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $28 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:45 |
| Total | $13,552 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,806 | 0 | $12 | 28 Aug, 08:20 |
| LOWERREG | $3,124 | 0 | $14 | 28 Aug, 15:25 |
| LOWER60SEC | $328 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 14:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $207 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $200 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:20 |
| LOWER6SEC | $102 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 15:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $97 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 15:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $73 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:30 |
| Total | $10,937 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,556 | 0 | $12 | 28 Aug, 08:20 |
| LOWERREG | $3,515 | 0 | $14 | 28 Aug, 15:25 |
| RAISE6SEC | $257 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:15 |
| LOWER60SEC | $245 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 14:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $226 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $167 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 15:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $128 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 15:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $53 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 07:30 |
| Total | $11,149 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,296 | 0 | $5 | 28 Aug, 08:35 |
| LOWERREG | $4,915 | 0 | $36 | 28 Aug, 13:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $746 | 0 | $35 | 28 Aug, 13:00 |
| RAISE60SEC | $414 | 0 | $3 | 28 Aug, 08:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $320 | 0 | $3 | 28 Aug, 08:35 |
| LOWER60SEC | $97 | 0 | $1 | 28 Aug, 09:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $18 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 14:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $9 | 0 | $0 | 28 Aug, 08:35 |
| Total | $15,814 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,436 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $121/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,284 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $107/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 789 MW at 18:00 as VIC spot hit $131/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 239 MW at 19:30 as SA spot hit $118/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,651 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $111/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,898MWh | -1,412 |
#2QLD | 5,996MWh | -840 |
#3VIC | 4,531MWh | -250 |
#4SA | 1,298MWh | -496 |
Generation Mix
- Coal56.0% · 123.2 GWh
- Gas1.4% · 3.0 GWh
- Hydro6.9% · 15.2 GWh
- Wind2.9% · 6.3 GWh
- Solar (utility)13.6% · 29.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)16.1% · 35.4 GWh
- Battery3.1% · 6.9 GWh
- Coal58.5% · 118.9 GWh
- Gas3.3% · 6.7 GWh
- Hydro1.4% · 2.7 GWh
- Wind6.1% · 12.3 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.7% · 23.8 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)15.8% · 32.0 GWh
- Battery3.0% · 6.0 GWh
- Other0.4% · 0.7 GWh
- Coal61.8% · 99.6 GWh
- Gas4.3% · 7.0 GWh
- Hydro3.1% · 5.0 GWh
- Wind13.9% · 22.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.5% · 12.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)6.6% · 10.7 GWh
- Battery2.8% · 4.5 GWh
- Gas47.4% · 17.3 GWh
- Wind12.7% · 4.6 GWh
- Solar (utility)10.0% · 3.6 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)26.3% · 9.6 GWh
- Battery3.6% · 1.3 GWh
- Gas8.4% · 3.1 GWh
- Hydro66.7% · 24.2 GWh
- Wind20.8% · 7.6 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.0% · 1.5 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 38.1%
- VIC 32.5%
- QLD 43.3%
- SA 46.1%
- TAS 110.9%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +40.5 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −26.9 GWh | 18 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | −10.2 GWh | 7 | — |
| V-SA | −11.4 GWh | 25 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +12.7 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 | 108.3k tCO₂ | 0.485 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 107.0k tCO₂ | 0.518 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 8.2k tCO₂ | 0.222 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 122.3k tCO₂ | 0.750 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 1.8k tCO₂ | 0.052 tCO₂/MWh |