NEM
NEM Daily analysis

Sunday 18 October 2026

Trading day 2026-10-18

Market Snapshot

SA records negative 37.9 $/MWh average price for the day

NSW recorded the highest average price at 76.6 $/MWh. SA recorded the lowest average price at negative 37.9 $/MWh. VIC and TAS recorded negative average prices at negative 3.4 $/MWh and negative 2.0 $/MWh respectively. No regions recorded cap intervals.

NSW recorded the highest demand peak at 7823 MW at 19:05. Coal contributed 44.0 per cent of the generation mix. Wind and rooftop solar provided 18.6 per cent and 19.3 per cent respectively. The instantaneous renewable share peaked at 75.8 per cent at 10:55. Batteries discharged 16455 MWh.

Total FCAS costs were 48592 AUD. No FCAS spikes occurred. Emissions were 252101 tCO2. This was 4.2 per cent below the same weekday last week.

AEMO issued a forecast LOR2 notice for SA at 11:49. A forecast LOR1 notice for SA followed at 14:56. AEMO cancelled the forecast LOR2 notice for SA at 22:32.

Today · Pre dispatch forecasts show TAS reaching 320.34 $/MWh at 09:00 and QLD reaching 225.79 $/MWh at 13:00.

In context · The SA average price of negative 37.9 $/MWh was 64.0 $/MWh below its seven day average. This ranked lowest for the region over the past seven days.

NSW $77VIC $-3QLD $72SA $-38TAS $-2
Numbers-only recap · gemini-3.1-pro-preview

Prices

Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average

NSW VIC QLD SA TAS
$0 $30 $60 $90 $120 -$60 -$20 $20 $60 $100 $0 $33 $65 $98 $130 -$190 -$117 -$45 $28 $100 -$60 -$20 $20 $60 $100 05:00 11:00 17:00 23:00 05:00
Region Avg VWAP Min Max Neg Cap
NSW $77 $81 $1 $121 0 0
QLD $72 $76 $1 $118 0 0
SA -$38 -$4 -$210 $88 380 0
VIC -$3 $4 -$62 $87 372 0
TAS -$2 $1 -$65 $92 334 0

Min · Max are 5-minute dispatch extremes; the price chart plots 30-minute averages, so its peak reads lower.

Demand

NSW
Peak
7,823MW
20:05
Trough
3,498MW
14:40
Energy
284.4GWh
QLD
Peak
7,225MW
19:15
Trough
4,383MW
11:45
Energy
269.5GWh
SA
Peak
1,459MW
21:05
Trough
1MW
13:20
Energy
45.2GWh
VIC
Peak
5,590MW
20:20
Trough
2,191MW
12:35
Energy
192.2GWh
TAS
Peak
1,096MW
19:35
Trough
768MW
14:05
Energy
44.7GWh

FCAS

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$4,2100$1119 Oct, 04:00
LOWERREG$2660$618 Oct, 15:10
RAISE6SEC$1150$018 Oct, 19:35
LOWER60SEC$1040$118 Oct, 16:10
RAISE60SEC$1000$018 Oct, 08:40
LOWER5MIN$610$018 Oct, 15:10
LOWER6SEC$460$018 Oct, 15:10
RAISE5MIN$320$018 Oct, 17:35
Total$4,934

Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$5,8200$1119 Oct, 04:00
LOWERREG$3,6860$618 Oct, 15:10
LOWER60SEC$3450$118 Oct, 16:10
RAISE6SEC$2270$018 Oct, 19:35
RAISE60SEC$1790$018 Oct, 08:40
LOWER5MIN$1500$018 Oct, 15:10
LOWER6SEC$1140$018 Oct, 15:10
RAISE5MIN$370$018 Oct, 17:35
Total$10,558

Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$10,1920$1119 Oct, 04:00
LOWERREG$1,6750$618 Oct, 15:10
LOWER60SEC$2670$118 Oct, 16:10
RAISE60SEC$1690$018 Oct, 08:40
RAISE6SEC$1470$018 Oct, 19:35
LOWER5MIN$1200$018 Oct, 15:10
LOWER6SEC$920$018 Oct, 15:10
RAISE5MIN$650$018 Oct, 17:35
Total$12,727

Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$4,6940$1119 Oct, 04:00
LOWERREG$2,4630$618 Oct, 15:10
LOWER60SEC$2680$118 Oct, 16:10
RAISE6SEC$1900$018 Oct, 19:35
RAISE60SEC$1670$018 Oct, 08:40
LOWER6SEC$1190$018 Oct, 15:10
LOWER5MIN$1080$018 Oct, 15:10
RAISE5MIN$430$018 Oct, 17:35
Total$8,054

Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$7,3060$518 Oct, 15:05
LOWERREG$3,3300$318 Oct, 07:05
RAISE6SEC$8270$018 Oct, 05:05
RAISE60SEC$8260$018 Oct, 05:05
LOWER60SEC$230$118 Oct, 16:10
LOWER5MIN$50$018 Oct, 15:25
LOWER6SEC$20$018 Oct, 15:10
RAISE5MIN$00$018 Oct, 23:10
Total$12,319

Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.

Battery dispatch

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,012 MW at 20:30 as NSW spot hit $106/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 599 MW at 20:00 as QLD spot hit $107/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,672 MW at 20:00 as VIC spot hit $81/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 653 MW at 20:00 as SA spot hit $83/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 3,894 MW at 20:00 as TAS spot hit $88/MWh.

Discharged
6,339MWh
peak 1,012 MW · 20:30
Charged
7,569MWh
peak 1,304 MW
Net
-1,231MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
84%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
3,225MWh
peak 599 MW · 20:00
Charged
4,480MWh
peak 863 MW
Net
-1,255MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
72%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
4,771MWh
peak 1,672 MW · 20:00
Charged
5,120MWh
peak 955 MW
Net
-348MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
93%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
2,120MWh
peak 653 MW · 20:00
Charged
2,299MWh
peak 458 MW
Net
-179MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
92%
discharge / charge ratio
NEM-wide
Discharged
16,455MWh
peak 3,894 MW · 20:00
Charged
19,468MWh
peak 3,041 MW
Net
-3,013MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
85%
discharge / charge ratio

Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average

Net MWdischarge ↑ · charge ↓NSWQLDVICSATAS$/MWh
-4.0 GW-2.0 GW0 MW2.0 GW4.0 GW-$200-$100$0$100$20000:3007:3714:4521:5205:00

Regional dispatch ranking

RegionDischargedNet
#1NSW
6,339MWh
-1,231
#2VIC
4,771MWh
-348
#3QLD
3,225MWh
-1,255
#4SA
2,120MWh
-179

Generation Mix

TOP FUEL 39.8%
  • Coal39.8% · 73.1 GWh
  • Gas0.6% · 1.1 GWh
  • Hydro5.6% · 10.3 GWh
  • Wind11.6% · 21.3 GWh
  • Solar (utility)17.0% · 31.2 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)22.0% · 40.5 GWh
  • Battery3.4% · 6.3 GWh
TOP FUEL 55.6%
  • Coal55.6% · 104.7 GWh
  • Gas0.5% · 0.9 GWh
  • Hydro3.5% · 6.6 GWh
  • Wind17.2% · 32.3 GWh
  • Solar (utility)7.8% · 14.7 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)13.7% · 25.8 GWh
  • Battery1.7% · 3.2 GWh
TOP FUEL 51.3%
  • Coal51.3% · 79.8 GWh
  • Hydro0.8% · 1.3 GWh
  • Wind19.4% · 30.2 GWh
  • Solar (utility)6.0% · 9.4 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)19.4% · 30.2 GWh
  • Battery3.1% · 4.8 GWh
TOP FUEL 54.1%
  • Gas5.2% · 2.1 GWh
  • Wind54.1% · 22.1 GWh
  • Solar (utility)0.8% · 0.3 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)34.8% · 14.2 GWh
  • Battery5.2% · 2.1 GWh
TOP FUEL 67.7%
  • Hydro67.7% · 11.3 GWh
  • Wind18.3% · 3.1 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)14.0% · 2.3 GWh
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:0010.6 GW 0
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:009.6 GW 0
coalhydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:008.4 GW 0
gasbattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:002.4 GW 0
hydrowindsolar rooftop
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:000.8 GW 0

Renewables

NSW · Daily renewable share
53.5%
VIC · Daily renewable share
55.2%
QLD · Daily renewable share
47.8%
SA · Daily renewable share
97.1%
TAS · Daily renewable share
61.8%
Peak instantaneous
75.8%
at 11:55
Daily NEM-wide share
53.4%
By region (daily share)
  • NSW
    53.5%
  • VIC
    55.2%
  • QLD
    47.8%
  • SA
    97.1%
  • TAS
    61.8%

Interconnectors

Region (proxy) Net flow Direction changes Hours at limit
N-Q-MNSP1 +18.6 GWh 22 —
NSW1-QLD1 −33.3 GWh 20 —
VIC1-NSW1 +35.8 GWh 0 —
V-SA +2.9 GWh 6 —
T-V-MNSP1 −20.3 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

Total emissions
252.1k tCO₂
▼ 4.2% vs same day last week
Intensity by region
NSW 64.6k tCO₂ 0.343 tCO₂/MWh
QLD 92.1k tCO₂ 0.488 tCO₂/MWh
SA 1.0k tCO₂ 0.024 tCO₂/MWh
VIC 94.4k tCO₂ 0.600 tCO₂/MWh
TAS 0 tCO₂ 0.000 tCO₂/MWh