AEMO cancelled a forecast Lack of Reserve Level 2 condition for South Australia covering an 11-hour period on 20 October. The market operator had initially declared the forecast LOR2 condition from 0600 to 1700, before withdrawing the notice late on Sunday evening. A forecast LOR1 condition remains in place for the South Australian region between 1700 and 1730 on the same day. Final investment decisions for large-scale renewable generation reached a new annual record in 2026 with three months remaining in the year.
WattClarity estimated that restricted flow capability south over the Queensland-New South Wales Interconnector reduced by approximately 500 MW during Monday afternoon on 12 October. WattClarity stated this restricted flow capability supported rising New South Wales demand and contributed to spot price volatility in the region. The software vendor noted that the spot price volatility in New South Wales prompted analysis across social and mainstream media.
Internal emails show a Canadian-owned gas provider and the state government discussed decommissioning a gas network eight months before notifying impacted customers. Local stakeholders criticised the delay in transparency regarding the future of the infrastructure.
The NEM average spot price settled at $21.0/MWh, with South Australia recording the lowest regional average at negative $37.9/MWh, a reading $64.0/MWh below its seven-day average. The highest price reached $121/MWh in New South Wales at 21:45, while South Australia saw the lowest price of negative $210/MWh at 13:25. Negative-price hours accumulated across the southern states, with South Australia recording 31.7 hours, Victoria 31.0 hours and Tasmania 27.8 hours. New South Wales recorded the demand peak of 7,823 MW at 19:05. Renewables supplied 53.4 per cent of energy, reaching an instantaneous peak of 75.8 per cent at 10:55, and batteries discharged 16,455 MWh.
Brent Crude increased 3.7 per cent to US$109.86 a barrel. Natural Gas declined 3.7 per cent to US$3.12/mmbtu. Transgrid published a submission dated 30 September 2025 regarding AER's draft guideline for revenue determinations on non-contestable network infrastructure projects.