Sunday 30 August 2026
Trading day 2026-08-30
NEM daily average prices drop as renewable generation peaks at seventy-four percent
Regional average prices remained compressed between $48.00/MWh in Queensland and $59.40/MWh in New South Wales. Negative pricing was prevalent across all regions, with Queensland experiencing 170 intervals and South Australia recording 108 intervals. Maximum prices stayed below $150/MWh across the NEM, with South Australia reaching the highest peak of $145.10/MWh.
Aggregate demand peaked in the evening, led by New South Wales at 9,079 MW and Queensland at 7,238 MW. Total energy consumption for the day reached 919.3 GWh across the five regions. Coal remained the primary generation source at 51.6%, while combined solar and wind contributed 36.3% to the total mix.
Renewable generation peaked at 74.0% at 12:25, supported by a 15.4% contribution from rooftop solar. Batteries discharged 13,438 MWh throughout the day but remained net consumers with a total net energy of -5,754 MWh. Hydro generation provided a steady 6.8% of the total generation mix.
FCAS costs were led by the Raise Regulation service in New South Wales and Lower Regulation in Tasmania. Total emissions for the trading day were 310,103 tCO2, representing a 0.9% decrease compared to the same day last week. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Queensland into New South Wales via the Terranora interconnector.
Today · Forecasts indicate a peak price of $319.04/MWh in Queensland at 19:30, with other regional peaks ranging from $61.84/MWh to $145.00/MWh.
Why it matters · The daily average price of $51.30/MWh sits 32.9% below the 7-day average, marking the second consecutive day of price softening. This decline coincides with a high 74.0% instantaneous renewable peak and widespread negative pricing, effectively breaking the upward price trend observed earlier in the week.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $59 | $68 | -$10 | $116 | 94 | 0 |
| QLD | $48 | $54 | -$9 | $102 | 170 | 0 |
| SA | $57 | $80 | -$18 | $145 | 108 | 0 |
| VIC | $57 | $64 | -$20 | $135 | 106 | 0 |
| TAS | $51 | $54 | -$21 | $121 | 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 | $4,048 | 0 | $18 | 31 Aug, 01:45 |
| LOWERREG | $874 | 0 | $10 | 30 Aug, 14:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $180 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 15:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $142 | 0 | $1 | 30 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE60SEC | $107 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 06:55 |
| RAISE6SEC | $105 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 07:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $46 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 14:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $27 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 06:55 |
| Total | $5,530 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $11,370 | 0 | $18 | 31 Aug, 01:45 |
| LOWERREG | $4,035 | 0 | $10 | 30 Aug, 14:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $318 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 15:40 |
| RAISE6SEC | $289 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 18:00 |
| RAISE60SEC | $235 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 04:10 |
| LOWER5MIN | $158 | 0 | $1 | 30 Aug, 16:20 |
| LOWER6SEC | $96 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 14:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $30 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 18:00 |
| Total | $16,532 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $9,614 | 0 | $18 | 31 Aug, 01:45 |
| LOWERREG | $3,645 | 0 | $10 | 30 Aug, 14:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $292 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 15:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $289 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 06:55 |
| RAISE6SEC | $284 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 07:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $86 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 14:10 |
| LOWER5MIN | $84 | 0 | $1 | 30 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $83 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 06:55 |
| Total | $14,376 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,828 | 0 | $18 | 31 Aug, 01:45 |
| LOWERREG | $4,336 | 0 | $10 | 30 Aug, 14:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $390 | 0 | $1 | 30 Aug, 16:25 |
| LOWER5MIN | $333 | 0 | $1 | 30 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $287 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 07:00 |
| RAISE60SEC | $267 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 06:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $166 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 16:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $56 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 06:55 |
| Total | $12,664 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOWERREG | $17,823 | 0 | $38 | 30 Aug, 14:00 |
| RAISEREG | $10,959 | 0 | $6 | 30 Aug, 10:05 |
| RAISE6SEC | $465 | 0 | $7 | 30 Aug, 16:45 |
| RAISE60SEC | $296 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 07:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $96 | 0 | $4 | 30 Aug, 16:35 |
| LOWER60SEC | $49 | 0 | $1 | 30 Aug, 16:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $31 | 0 | $1 | 30 Aug, 16:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $9 | 0 | $0 | 30 Aug, 07:40 |
| Total | $29,727 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,384 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $103/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,421 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $94/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 710 MW at 18:30 as VIC spot hit $104/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 233 MW at 19:00 as SA spot hit $111/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,748 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $94/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 5,038MWh | -2,213 |
#2QLD | 4,957MWh | -1,267 |
#3VIC | 2,412MWh | -1,477 |
#4SA | 1,032MWh | -797 |
Generation Mix
- Coal54.8% · 108.2 GWh
- Gas2.1% · 4.2 GWh
- Hydro4.8% · 9.5 GWh
- Wind2.7% · 5.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)15.1% · 29.9 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)17.8% · 35.1 GWh
- Battery2.6% · 5.0 GWh
- Coal55.7% · 109.1 GWh
- Gas1.3% · 2.6 GWh
- Hydro2.0% · 4.0 GWh
- Wind12.7% · 24.8 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.6% · 22.7 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)14.1% · 27.6 GWh
- Battery2.5% · 5.0 GWh
- Coal64.8% · 94.9 GWh
- Gas1.2% · 1.7 GWh
- Hydro5.6% · 8.2 GWh
- Wind8.1% · 11.8 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.0% · 10.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)11.8% · 17.2 GWh
- Battery1.6% · 2.4 GWh
- Gas19.3% · 6.5 GWh
- Wind35.3% · 11.9 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.9% · 2.7 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)34.5% · 11.6 GWh
- Battery3.1% · 1.0 GWh
- Gas9.7% · 3.1 GWh
- Hydro62.3% · 19.6 GWh
- Wind23.4% · 7.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.6% · 1.4 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 37.1%
- VIC 34.8%
- QLD 49.8%
- SA 70.7%
- TAS 102.8%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +45.6 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −39.3 GWh | 6 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | −650 MWh | 15 | — |
| V-SA | −7.9 GWh | 4 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +7.8 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 | 95.8k tCO₂ | 0.480 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 96.4k tCO₂ | 0.486 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 3.0k tCO₂ | 0.087 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 113.1k tCO₂ | 0.774 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 1.8k tCO₂ | 0.060 tCO₂/MWh |