Saturday 29 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-29
Renewable generation peaks at seventy-one percent amid widespread negative pricing intervals
Regional average prices ranged from $45.20/MWh in Queensland to $62.50/MWh in New South Wales. Negative pricing was prevalent across the southern regions, with Tasmania, Victoria, and South Australia all exceeding 100 negative intervals. Despite these lows, South Australia recorded the highest single interval price of $129.20/MWh during the evening peak.
Coal remained the primary generation source at 52.8%, followed by rooftop solar at 14.8% and utility solar at 10.8%. The combined renewable share averaged 41.6% for the day, supported by 16,005 MWh of battery discharge. Hydro and wind contributed 6.6% and 9.1% respectively, while gas generation was limited to 3.3%.
Aggregate demand was highest in New South Wales, peaking at 8,951 MW at 18:30. Queensland and Victoria followed with peaks of 7,005 MW and 6,565 MW respectively. Total emissions for the period reached 320,309 tonnes of CO2, representing a 2.3% increase compared to the same day last week.
FCAS costs were dominated by regulation services, with Lower Regulation in Tasmania reaching a peak price of $64.00/MWh. Raise Regulation costs in New South Wales totalled $32,459 for the day. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Victoria into South Australia and from Queensland into New South Wales via the Terranora interconnector.
Today · Queensland is forecast to reach a peak price of $319.04/MWh at 19:30, while other regions expect peaks between $61.84/MWh and $145.00/MWh.
Why it matters · The daily average price sits 25.4% below the 7-day mean, breaking a three-day trend of rising prices. This decline occurred despite a year-on-year emissions increase, driven by the coincidence of high solar availability and over 400 total negative price intervals across the NEM.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $62 | $66 | -$8 | $119 | 26 | 0 |
| QLD | $45 | $51 | -$8 | $105 | 82 | 0 |
| SA | $59 | $80 | -$32 | $129 | 110 | 0 |
| VIC | $54 | $60 | -$34 | $119 | 108 | 0 |
| TAS | $48 | $50 | -$35 | $107 | 106 | 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 | $3,166 | 0 | $10 | 29 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWERREG | $1,409 | 0 | $7 | 29 Aug, 14:35 |
| LOWER60SEC | $206 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 13:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $112 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 13:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $98 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 15:55 |
| RAISE60SEC | $91 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 04:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $89 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 06:50 |
| RAISE5MIN | $27 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 06:50 |
| Total | $5,197 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,309 | 0 | $10 | 29 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWERREG | $4,491 | 0 | $7 | 29 Aug, 14:35 |
| LOWER60SEC | $325 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 13:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $324 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 06:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $270 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 04:30 |
| LOWER6SEC | $143 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 13:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $82 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 15:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $32 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 06:50 |
| Total | $11,976 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,252 | 0 | $10 | 29 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWERREG | $4,427 | 0 | $7 | 29 Aug, 14:35 |
| LOWER60SEC | $292 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 13:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $271 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 04:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $219 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 06:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $159 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 13:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $103 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 15:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $88 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 06:50 |
| Total | $14,809 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $3,869 | 0 | $10 | 29 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWERREG | $3,437 | 0 | $7 | 29 Aug, 14:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $263 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 06:50 |
| LOWER60SEC | $260 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 13:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $259 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 04:30 |
| LOWER6SEC | $155 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 13:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $108 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 15:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $58 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 06:50 |
| Total | $8,408 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOWERREG | $20,867 | 0 | $64 | 29 Aug, 15:05 |
| RAISEREG | $9,864 | 0 | $6 | 29 Aug, 11:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $531 | 0 | $3 | 29 Aug, 08:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $388 | 0 | $17 | 29 Aug, 16:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $288 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 08:00 |
| LOWER60SEC | $67 | 0 | $1 | 29 Aug, 08:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $16 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 08:00 |
| LOWER5MIN | $1 | 0 | $0 | 29 Aug, 15:55 |
| Total | $32,021 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,476 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $89/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,296 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $80/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 821 MW at 18:30 as VIC spot hit $91/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 341 MW at 18:30 as SA spot hit $97/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,933 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $82/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,382MWh | -832 |
#2QLD | 4,982MWh | -1,222 |
#3VIC | 3,139MWh | -789 |
#4SA | 1,502MWh | -232 |
Generation Mix
- Coal55.3% · 113.7 GWh
- Gas1.8% · 3.7 GWh
- Hydro7.0% · 14.4 GWh
- Wind3.2% · 6.6 GWh
- Solar (utility)14.2% · 29.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)15.4% · 31.6 GWh
- Battery3.1% · 6.4 GWh
- Coal58.3% · 113.0 GWh
- Gas1.6% · 3.1 GWh
- Hydro1.6% · 3.1 GWh
- Wind9.3% · 18.0 GWh
- Solar (utility)12.0% · 23.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)14.6% · 28.2 GWh
- Battery2.6% · 5.0 GWh
- Other0.1% · 0.2 GWh
- Coal66.0% · 96.1 GWh
- Gas0.8% · 1.2 GWh
- Hydro2.3% · 3.4 GWh
- Wind8.6% · 12.6 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.6% · 11.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.6% · 18.3 GWh
- Battery2.2% · 3.1 GWh
- Gas26.0% · 8.9 GWh
- Wind29.5% · 10.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.8% · 2.7 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)32.3% · 11.1 GWh
- Battery4.4% · 1.5 GWh
- Gas9.5% · 3.1 GWh
- Hydro60.6% · 19.4 GWh
- Wind25.4% · 8.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.5% · 1.4 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 38.7%
- VIC 32.8%
- QLD 46.5%
- SA 66.8%
- TAS 103.0%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +44.8 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −32.7 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | −4.8 GWh | 30 | — |
| V-SA | −9.9 GWh | 16 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +7.7 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 | 0.481 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 99.9k tCO₂ | 0.508 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 4.1k tCO₂ | 0.115 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 114.1k tCO₂ | 0.781 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 1.8k tCO₂ | 0.059 tCO₂/MWh |