Wednesday 9 September 2026
Trading day 2026-09-09
South Australian prices plummet as negative intervals dominate daily trading
Regional price dispersion was significant with New South Wales and Queensland averaging 75.60 and 60.00 dollars per megawatt hour respectively. In contrast, South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania all averaged below 37.00 dollars per megawatt hour due to high frequencies of negative intervals. Tasmania saw the highest single price spike of 320.40 dollars per megawatt hour despite its low daily average.
Renewable sources contributed 48.7 percent of the total energy mix, led by wind at 21.3 percent and combined solar at 22.6 percent. Coal remained the primary generation source at 46.3 percent while gas and hydro provided less than 7 percent combined. Batteries discharged 18116 megawatt hours into the grid, though the technology remained a net consumer for the day.
FCAS costs were concentrated in Tasmania where the Raise Regulation service peaked at 244.00 dollars per megawatt hour. Total emissions for the period were 296987 tonnes of carbon dioxide, representing a marginal 0.5 percent increase over the same day last week. Interconnector flows showed significant transfers from Victoria into South Australia and New South Wales.
Today · Forecasts indicate a peak price of 319.04 dollars per megawatt hour in Queensland at 19:30 this evening.
Why it matters · The daily average of 41.00 dollars per megawatt hour sits 14.5 percent below the weekly average, breaking a three-day rising trend. This price softening occurred despite steady emissions, as the high 76.2 percent instantaneous renewable peak coincided with 632 total negative intervals across southern regions.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $76 | $79 | $0 | $119 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $60 | $66 | $0 | $112 | 0 | 0 |
| SA | $28 | $36 | -$101 | $100 | 276 | 0 |
| VIC | $34 | $40 | -$20 | $107 | 192 | 0 |
| TAS | $36 | $38 | -$17 | $320 | 164 | 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 | $3,316 | 0 | $12 | 9 Sept, 09:45 |
| LOWERREG | $2,280 | 0 | $7 | 9 Sept, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $114 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 06:55 |
| RAISE60SEC | $114 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 05:45 |
| LOWER60SEC | $106 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 13:00 |
| LOWER5MIN | $55 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 14:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $46 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 14:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $35 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 07:10 |
| Total | $6,065 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $7,273 | 0 | $12 | 9 Sept, 09:45 |
| LOWERREG | $4,002 | 0 | $7 | 9 Sept, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $342 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 06:55 |
| LOWER60SEC | $341 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 13:00 |
| RAISE60SEC | $292 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 05:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $108 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 14:35 |
| LOWER6SEC | $89 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 14:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $40 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 07:10 |
| Total | $12,487 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,874 | 0 | $12 | 9 Sept, 09:45 |
| LOWERREG | $3,638 | 0 | $7 | 9 Sept, 15:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $323 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 05:45 |
| RAISE6SEC | $299 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 06:55 |
| LOWER60SEC | $179 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 13:00 |
| RAISE5MIN | $99 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 07:10 |
| LOWER6SEC | $42 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 14:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $42 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 14:35 |
| Total | $13,497 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $4,919 | 0 | $12 | 9 Sept, 09:45 |
| LOWERREG | $2,790 | 0 | $7 | 9 Sept, 15:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $211 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 04:05 |
| RAISE60SEC | $203 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 04:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $155 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 13:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $68 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 14:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $59 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 14:35 |
| RAISE5MIN | $37 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 07:10 |
| Total | $8,443 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISE6SEC | $25,136 | 0 | $403 | 9 Sept, 17:55 |
| RAISEREG | $12,914 | 0 | $244 | 9 Sept, 17:55 |
| LOWERREG | $12,389 | 0 | $99 | 9 Sept, 13:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $5,264 | 0 | $205 | 9 Sept, 17:55 |
| LOWER6SEC | $980 | 0 | $26 | 9 Sept, 17:15 |
| LOWER60SEC | $109 | 0 | $1 | 9 Sept, 16:55 |
| RAISE5MIN | $15 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 17:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $8 | 0 | $0 | 9 Sept, 17:00 |
| Total | $56,815 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,105 MW at 18:00 as NSW spot hit $106/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,553 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $105/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 840 MW at 20:00 as VIC spot hit $83/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 309 MW at 20:00 as SA spot hit $87/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,628 MW at 19:00 as TAS spot hit $80/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 7,245MWh | +1,364 |
#2QLD | 5,828MWh | -406 |
#3VIC | 3,596MWh | -841 |
#4SA | 1,447MWh | -400 |
Generation Mix
- Coal55.8% · 108.4 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.0 GWh
- Hydro4.8% · 9.3 GWh
- Wind7.3% · 14.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)10.4% · 20.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)16.2% · 31.6 GWh
- Battery3.7% · 7.2 GWh
- Other1.2% · 2.4 GWh
- Coal56.0% · 111.2 GWh
- Gas1.8% · 3.5 GWh
- Hydro1.8% · 3.7 GWh
- Wind9.6% · 19.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)10.9% · 21.7 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)16.3% · 32.5 GWh
- Battery2.9% · 5.8 GWh
- Other0.6% · 1.1 GWh
- Coal46.0% · 81.0 GWh
- Gas2.3% · 4.0 GWh
- Hydro0.9% · 1.6 GWh
- Wind32.1% · 56.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)4.9% · 8.7 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)11.8% · 20.7 GWh
- Battery2.0% · 3.6 GWh
- Gas5.4% · 2.8 GWh
- Wind72.6% · 38.0 GWh
- Solar (utility)1.2% · 0.6 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)18.1% · 9.5 GWh
- Battery2.8% · 1.4 GWh
- Gas11.6% · 3.4 GWh
- Hydro48.5% · 14.3 GWh
- Wind35.1% · 10.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.9% · 1.4 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 34.3%
- VIC 55.4%
- QLD 46.5%
- SA 110.0%
- TAS 84.2%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +25.9 GWh | 4 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −54.4 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +18.9 GWh | 18 | — |
| V-SA | +16.7 GWh | 14 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | −2.0 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 | 94.7k tCO₂ | 0.481 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 99.1k tCO₂ | 0.493 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 1.4k tCO₂ | 0.026 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 99.7k tCO₂ | 0.564 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.0k tCO₂ | 0.071 tCO₂/MWh |