NEM
NEM Daily analysis

Thursday 22 October 2026

Trading day 2026-10-22

Market Snapshot

NEM average price reaches 87.8 $/MWh with 15.3 negative hours in SA

Regional prices ranged from 46.7 $/MWh in VIC to 112.5 $/MWh in QLD, with no cap hours recorded across the NEM. SA recorded 15.3 negative hours, while VIC recorded 10.2 negative hours during the trading day.

NSW recorded the highest demand peak of 8629 MW at 18:40, while QLD reached a peak of 7760 MW at 18:25. VIC reached a demand peak of 7301 MW at 17:55.

Coal accounted for 50.1 per cent of the generation mix, followed by wind at 18.7 per cent and rooftop solar at 13.9 per cent. The renewable share averaged 45.9 per cent, and batteries discharged 12745 MWh with a net load of negative 4377 MWh.

The highest FCAS price was 19 $/MW for the RAISE6SEC service in TAS, with no price spikes recorded. Total emissions were 309840 tCO2, representing a 4.2 per cent increase from the same weekday last week.

Today · Predispatch forecasts show SA reaching 349.67 $/MWh at 17:30, VIC reaching 329.21 $/MWh at 23:30, and NSW reaching 299.99 $/MWh at 21:30.

In context · The NEM average price of 87.8 $/MWh was above the seven day average of 66.2 $/MWh and ranked third for the week. This compares with a NEM average of 69.9 $/MWh on the same weekday last week.

NSW $111VIC $47QLD $113SA $70TAS $99
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 $45 $90 $135 $180 -$20 $58 $135 $213 $290 $0 $45 $90 $135 $180 -$30 $43 $115 $188 $260 $0 $30 $60 $90 $120 05:00 11:00 17:00 23:00 05:00
Region Avg VWAP Min Max Neg Cap
NSW $111 $112 $67 $188 0 0
QLD $113 $113 $71 $295 0 0
SA $70 $87 -$41 $262 184 0
VIC $47 $59 -$20 $299 122 0
TAS $99 $99 $88 $108 0 0

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

Demand

NSW
Peak
8,629MW
19:40
Trough
6,410MW
14:15
Energy
352.1GWh
QLD
Peak
7,760MW
19:25
Trough
5,603MW
04:55
Energy
313.4GWh
SA
Peak
1,802MW
20:05
Trough
508MW
13:30
Energy
60.6GWh
VIC
Peak
7,301MW
18:55
Trough
3,512MW
12:10
Energy
244.3GWh
TAS
Peak
1,096MW
19:20
Trough
782MW
12:00
Energy
44.2GWh

FCAS

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$10,0670$1622 Oct, 08:10
LOWERREG$1,3660$1022 Oct, 17:35
RAISE60SEC$1480$022 Oct, 09:25
RAISE6SEC$1410$022 Oct, 08:55
LOWER60SEC$1310$022 Oct, 11:05
LOWER6SEC$350$022 Oct, 15:00
RAISE5MIN$300$022 Oct, 20:10
LOWER5MIN$290$022 Oct, 10:55
Total$11,948

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$6,9960$1622 Oct, 08:10
LOWERREG$4,7170$1022 Oct, 17:35
LOWER60SEC$4170$022 Oct, 11:05
RAISE6SEC$3490$022 Oct, 08:55
RAISE60SEC$3020$022 Oct, 09:25
LOWER6SEC$660$022 Oct, 15:00
LOWER5MIN$530$022 Oct, 10:55
RAISE5MIN$460$022 Oct, 20:10
Total$12,946

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$14,1060$1622 Oct, 08:10
LOWERREG$2,7800$1022 Oct, 17:35
RAISE60SEC$3920$022 Oct, 09:25
RAISE6SEC$3500$022 Oct, 08:55
LOWER60SEC$3460$022 Oct, 11:05
RAISE5MIN$780$022 Oct, 20:10
LOWER6SEC$680$022 Oct, 15:00
LOWER5MIN$440$022 Oct, 10:55
Total$18,165

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
LOWERREG$5,5780$1022 Oct, 17:35
RAISEREG$4,9090$1622 Oct, 08:10
LOWER60SEC$4500$022 Oct, 11:05
RAISE6SEC$3460$022 Oct, 08:55
RAISE60SEC$3260$022 Oct, 09:25
LOWER6SEC$1280$022 Oct, 15:00
LOWER5MIN$570$022 Oct, 10:55
RAISE5MIN$520$022 Oct, 20:10
Total$11,846

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
LOWER6SEC$13,6530$322 Oct, 07:35
RAISEREG$8,3750$522 Oct, 09:05
LOWERREG$5,4190$322 Oct, 11:35
RAISE6SEC$4,7780$1922 Oct, 07:40
LOWER60SEC$2,9660$122 Oct, 10:10
RAISE60SEC$2,2720$022 Oct, 05:05
RAISE5MIN$4430$022 Oct, 05:05
LOWER5MIN$3180$222 Oct, 10:20
Total$38,222

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

Battery dispatch

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 722 MW at 20:00 as NSW spot hit $132/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 731 MW at 19:30 as QLD spot hit $131/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,362 MW at 19:30 as VIC spot hit $172/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 617 MW at 20:30 as SA spot hit $243/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 3,186 MW at 19:30 as TAS spot hit $100/MWh.

Discharged
2,928MWh
peak 722 MW · 20:00
Charged
4,256MWh
peak 920 MW
Net
-1,328MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
69%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
3,360MWh
peak 731 MW · 19:30
Charged
4,686MWh
peak 748 MW
Net
-1,326MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
72%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
4,759MWh
peak 1,362 MW · 19:30
Charged
5,663MWh
peak 1,169 MW
Net
-905MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
84%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
1,699MWh
peak 617 MW · 20:30
Charged
2,517MWh
peak 447 MW
Net
-818MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
67%
discharge / charge ratio
NEM-wide
Discharged
12,745MWh
peak 3,186 MW · 19:30
Charged
17,122MWh
peak 2,801 MW
Net
-4,377MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
74%
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-$100$0$100$200$30000:3007:3714:4521:5205:00

Regional dispatch ranking

RegionDischargedNet
#1VIC
4,759MWh
-905
#2QLD
3,360MWh
-1,326
#3NSW
2,928MWh
-1,328
#4SA
1,699MWh
-818

Generation Mix

TOP FUEL 54.7%
  • Coal54.7% · 115.2 GWh
  • Gas1.7% · 3.6 GWh
  • Hydro3.4% · 7.1 GWh
  • Wind14.7% · 30.9 GWh
  • Solar (utility)11.9% · 25.0 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)12.3% · 25.8 GWh
  • Battery1.4% · 2.9 GWh
TOP FUEL 69.1%
  • Coal69.1% · 128.0 GWh
  • Gas1.9% · 3.6 GWh
  • Hydro1.1% · 2.1 GWh
  • Wind13.1% · 24.2 GWh
  • Solar (utility)4.6% · 8.5 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)8.3% · 15.4 GWh
  • Battery1.8% · 3.4 GWh
TOP FUEL 43.4%
  • Coal43.4% · 74.6 GWh
  • Gas0.8% · 1.5 GWh
  • Hydro3.8% · 6.6 GWh
  • Wind23.7% · 40.8 GWh
  • Solar (utility)7.2% · 12.3 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)18.3% · 31.4 GWh
  • Battery2.8% · 4.8 GWh
TOP FUEL 38.4%
  • Gas19.4% · 7.5 GWh
  • Wind38.4% · 14.8 GWh
  • Solar (utility)2.8% · 1.1 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)35.0% · 13.5 GWh
  • Battery4.4% · 1.7 GWh
TOP FUEL 64.3%
  • Hydro64.3% · 17.8 GWh
  • Wind27.7% · 7.6 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)8.0% · 2.2 GWh
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:0011.3 GW 0
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:008.8 GW 0
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:009.3 GW 0
gasbattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:002.5 GW 0
hydrowindsolar rooftop
00:3006:3712:4518:5201:001.2 GW 0

Renewables

NSW · Daily renewable share
44.1%
VIC · Daily renewable share
58.4%
QLD · Daily renewable share
30.0%
SA · Daily renewable share
66.3%
TAS · Daily renewable share
99.8%
Peak instantaneous
66.4%
at 12:50
Daily NEM-wide share
45.9%
By region (daily share)
  • NSW
    44.1%
  • VIC
    58.4%
  • QLD
    30.0%
  • SA
    66.3%
  • TAS
    99.8%

Interconnectors

Region (proxy) Net flow Direction changes Hours at limit
N-Q-MNSP1 +9.8 GWh 16 —
NSW1-QLD1 −10.6 GWh 6 —
VIC1-NSW1 +24.6 GWh 18 —
V-SA −20.2 GWh 8 —
T-V-MNSP1 +0 MWh 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
309.8k tCO₂
▲ 4.2% vs same day last week
Intensity by region
NSW 102.0k tCO₂ 0.484 tCO₂/MWh
QLD 114.0k tCO₂ 0.614 tCO₂/MWh
SA 3.9k tCO₂ 0.097 tCO₂/MWh
VIC 90.0k tCO₂ 0.517 tCO₂/MWh
TAS 8 tCO₂ 0.000 tCO₂/MWh