Thursday 3 September 2026
Trading day 2026-09-03
Renewables reach fifty-three percent share as Queensland records high negative intervals
Average regional prices were tightly clustered between $52.10/MWh in Queensland and $61.30/MWh in New South Wales. Despite the low averages, Tasmania recorded the highest single price spike of $220.40/MWh during the evening peak. Queensland and New South Wales saw significant negative pricing, with 206 and 174 intervals below zero respectively.
Demand peaked across all regions between 18:00 and 19:00, led by New South Wales at 8,886 MW. The generation mix was dominated by coal at 42.5% and wind at 24.4%, while solar sources combined for 23.1%. Hydro and gas provided smaller shares of 5.0% and 2.4% respectively to meet the evening ramp.
Batteries discharged 16,608 MWh into the grid but remained net consumers with a total net energy of -3,402 MWh. FCAS costs were concentrated in Tasmania, where the Raise Regulation service peaked at $1,002/MWh across two intervals. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Victoria into New South Wales and from South Australia into Victoria.
Today · Predispatch forecasts suggest a Queensland price peak 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 of $45.20/MWh sits 24.8% below the 7-day average, continuing a four-day trend of sub-$65 pricing. This sustained low-price environment coincides with a high 52.9% renewable share and a sharp 23.9% reduction in weekly emissions despite batteries remaining net consumers.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $61 | $69 | -$12 | $163 | 174 | 0 |
| QLD | $52 | $61 | -$35 | $151 | 206 | 0 |
| SA | $59 | $66 | -$20 | $198 | 158 | 0 |
| VIC | $58 | $63 | -$12 | $217 | 48 | 0 |
| TAS | $57 | $60 | -$9 | $220 | 40 | 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 | $4,708 | 0 | $44 | 3 Sept, 19:55 |
| LOWERREG | $366 | 0 | $8 | 3 Sept, 13:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $156 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 13:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $146 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 13:15 |
| LOWER5MIN | $134 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 16:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $132 | 0 | $0 | 4 Sept, 02:05 |
| RAISE60SEC | $120 | 0 | $0 | 4 Sept, 02:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $30 | 0 | $0 | 3 Sept, 06:55 |
| Total | $5,791 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $12,567 | 0 | $44 | 3 Sept, 19:55 |
| LOWERREG | $4,199 | 0 | $8 | 3 Sept, 13:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $516 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 13:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $481 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 13:15 |
| RAISE6SEC | $406 | 0 | $0 | 3 Sept, 07:00 |
| RAISE60SEC | $372 | 0 | $0 | 3 Sept, 06:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $218 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 16:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $49 | 0 | $0 | 3 Sept, 06:55 |
| Total | $18,809 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $10,901 | 0 | $44 | 3 Sept, 19:55 |
| LOWERREG | $3,546 | 0 | $8 | 3 Sept, 13:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $555 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 13:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $484 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 13:15 |
| RAISE60SEC | $350 | 0 | $0 | 4 Sept, 02:05 |
| RAISE6SEC | $343 | 0 | $0 | 4 Sept, 02:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $233 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 16:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $100 | 0 | $0 | 3 Sept, 06:55 |
| Total | $16,512 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,061 | 0 | $44 | 3 Sept, 19:55 |
| LOWERREG | $4,124 | 0 | $8 | 3 Sept, 13:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $337 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 13:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $329 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 13:15 |
| RAISE6SEC | $268 | 0 | $0 | 4 Sept, 02:05 |
| RAISE60SEC | $253 | 0 | $0 | 4 Sept, 02:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $231 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 16:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $51 | 0 | $0 | 3 Sept, 06:55 |
| Total | $11,654 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $28,990 | 2 | $1,002 | 3 Sept, 14:20 |
| LOWERREG | $9,936 | 0 | $61 | 3 Sept, 04:20 |
| RAISE6SEC | $2,698 | 0 | $93 | 3 Sept, 17:15 |
| LOWER6SEC | $541 | 0 | $44 | 3 Sept, 10:10 |
| RAISE60SEC | $446 | 0 | $0 | 3 Sept, 04:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $95 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 09:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $74 | 0 | $1 | 3 Sept, 16:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $8 | 0 | $0 | 3 Sept, 17:05 |
| Total | $42,787 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,082 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $121/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,462 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $109/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 913 MW at 19:00 as VIC spot hit $115/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 367 MW at 19:30 as SA spot hit $152/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,620 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 |
|---|---|---|
#1QLD | 5,245MWh | -1,119 |
#2NSW | 4,948MWh | -869 |
#3VIC | 4,891MWh | -953 |
#4SA | 1,523MWh | -460 |
Generation Mix
- Coal44.7% · 90.7 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.0 GWh
- Hydro3.3% · 6.7 GWh
- Wind19.7% · 40.0 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.9% · 24.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)17.4% · 35.2 GWh
- Battery2.4% · 4.9 GWh
- Other0.1% · 0.1 GWh
- Coal56.0% · 110.4 GWh
- Gas1.9% · 3.8 GWh
- Hydro2.3% · 4.5 GWh
- Wind8.2% · 16.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)11.1% · 21.9 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)17.7% · 35.0 GWh
- Battery2.7% · 5.2 GWh
- Other0.1% · 0.3 GWh
- Coal40.0% · 68.9 GWh
- Gas2.6% · 4.5 GWh
- Hydro4.4% · 7.5 GWh
- Wind38.2% · 65.8 GWh
- Solar (utility)3.7% · 6.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)8.3% · 14.2 GWh
- Battery2.8% · 4.9 GWh
- Gas15.7% · 5.9 GWh
- Wind56.2% · 21.2 GWh
- Solar (utility)6.2% · 2.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)17.8% · 6.7 GWh
- Battery4.0% · 1.5 GWh
- Hydro49.5% · 13.0 GWh
- Wind45.6% · 12.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.9% · 1.3 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 49.8%
- VIC 61.6%
- QLD 46.7%
- SA 73.8%
- TAS 87.0%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +35.2 GWh | 2 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −32.8 GWh | 26 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +21.7 GWh | 10 | — |
| V-SA | −16.7 GWh | 3 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | −2.3 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 | 79.4k tCO₂ | 0.387 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 98.4k tCO₂ | 0.491 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 3.0k tCO₂ | 0.079 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 85.3k tCO₂ | 0.491 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 0 tCO₂ | 0.000 tCO₂/MWh |