Sunday 12 July 2026
Trading day 2026-07-12
South Australia records negative daily average price amid high renewable penetration
Regional price averages varied widely, ranging from -$6.30/MWh in South Australia to $43.10/MWh in New South Wales. South Australia saw the lowest minimum price of -$100.10/MWh, while New South Wales recorded the highest daily peak of $90.50/MWh. Negative pricing was prevalent across the southern regions, with Victoria and Tasmania each seeing over 320 negative intervals.
System demand peaked in the early evening, led by New South Wales at 10,672 MW and Victoria at 7,841 MW. Total energy consumption for the day reached 1,084.3 GWh across the five regions. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Victoria to New South Wales, totalling 41,737 MWh for the period.
Coal remained the primary generation source at 47.7%, but wind contributed a substantial 30.2% to the total fuel mix. Solar sources provided a combined 14.7% of energy, while gas and hydro generation remained low at 1.3% and 4.5% respectively. Batteries discharged 11,521 MWh but remained net consumers of energy with a net balance of -5,875 MWh.
FCAS costs were modest, with the highest single service cost being $28,381 for Raise Regulation in Tasmania. Total emissions for the day were 304,868 tonnes of CO2. This represents a significant decrease compared to the same day in the previous week.
Today · Forecasts indicate a peak price of $319.04/MWh in Queensland at 19:30, with other regional peaks ranging from $61.84/MWh to $145.00/MWh.
Why it matters · The daily average price of $18.70/MWh sits 82.3% below the 7-day average, extending a sharp downward trend from a weekly high of $243.40/MWh. This collapse in pricing coincides with a near-majority renewable share and negative average prices in South Australia, despite batteries remaining net consumers.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $43 | $47 | -$9 | $90 | 112 | 0 |
| QLD | $41 | $46 | -$8 | $81 | 124 | 0 |
| SA | -$6 | -$6 | -$100 | $22 | 532 | 0 |
| VIC | $7 | $8 | -$64 | $87 | 352 | 0 |
| TAS | $8 | $9 | -$15 | $88 | 326 | 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 | $5,700 | 0 | $9 | 12 July, 09:45 |
| LOWERREG | $531 | 0 | $4 | 12 July, 16:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $139 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $128 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 22:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $112 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 09:15 |
| LOWER5MIN | $63 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 15:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $42 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 18:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $38 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| Total | $6,753 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $5,956 | 0 | $9 | 12 July, 09:45 |
| LOWERREG | $1,575 | 0 | $4 | 12 July, 16:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $349 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $162 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 22:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $130 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 09:15 |
| LOWER5MIN | $73 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 15:05 |
| LOWER6SEC | $57 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| RAISE5MIN | $22 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 18:40 |
| Total | $8,325 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,055 | 0 | $9 | 12 July, 09:45 |
| LOWERREG | $1,235 | 0 | $4 | 12 July, 16:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $382 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $166 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 09:15 |
| RAISE6SEC | $156 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 22:30 |
| LOWER5MIN | $137 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 15:05 |
| RAISE5MIN | $61 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 18:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $40 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| Total | $8,232 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOWERREG | $3,287 | 0 | $4 | 12 July, 16:10 |
| RAISEREG | $2,126 | 0 | $9 | 12 July, 09:45 |
| LOWER60SEC | $342 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $191 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 22:30 |
| RAISE60SEC | $164 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 09:15 |
| LOWER5MIN | $119 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 15:05 |
| LOWER6SEC | $85 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| RAISE5MIN | $55 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 18:40 |
| Total | $6,370 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,544 | 0 | $13 | 12 July, 18:35 |
| LOWERREG | $7,234 | 0 | $75 | 12 July, 07:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $1,102 | 0 | $3 | 12 July, 21:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $705 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 04:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $106 | 0 | $3 | 12 July, 23:10 |
| LOWER6SEC | $46 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 16:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $17 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 23:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $2 | 0 | $0 | 12 July, 13:35 |
| Total | $17,757 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 989 MW at 19:30 as NSW spot hit $70/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 864 MW at 20:30 as QLD spot hit $66/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 568 MW at 18:30 as VIC spot hit $40/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 132 MW at 18:30 as SA spot hit $1/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 2,410 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $49/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 5,278MWh | -1,435 |
#2QLD | 4,099MWh | -1,807 |
#3VIC | 1,742MWh | -1,323 |
#4SA | 402MWh | -1,310 |
Generation Mix
- Coal50.1% · 106.7 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.0 GWh
- Hydro4.6% · 9.8 GWh
- Wind23.3% · 49.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)8.6% · 18.2 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)10.4% · 22.2 GWh
- Battery2.5% · 5.3 GWh
- Coal63.5% · 116.3 GWh
- Gas2.6% · 4.8 GWh
- Hydro3.1% · 5.6 GWh
- Wind6.6% · 12.2 GWh
- Solar (utility)9.5% · 17.5 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)12.4% · 22.8 GWh
- Battery2.2% · 4.1 GWh
- Coal47.7% · 90.0 GWh
- Hydro0.2% · 0.4 GWh
- Wind45.9% · 86.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)1.8% · 3.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)3.5% · 6.6 GWh
- Battery0.9% · 1.7 GWh
- Gas2.3% · 1.0 GWh
- Wind86.2% · 38.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)1.6% · 0.7 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)9.0% · 4.0 GWh
- Battery0.9% · 0.4 GWh
- Gas5.8% · 1.6 GWh
- Hydro49.5% · 13.4 GWh
- Wind42.2% · 11.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)2.6% · 0.7 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 43.7%
- VIC 58.5%
- QLD 36.7%
- SA 97.2%
- TAS 81.5%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +18.1 GWh | 12 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −47.3 GWh | 2 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +41.7 GWh | 4 | — |
| V-SA | +289 MWh | 18 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | −7.4 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 | 93.1k tCO₂ | 0.433 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 102.8k tCO₂ | 0.555 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 415 tCO₂ | 0.009 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 107.6k tCO₂ | 0.576 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 951 tCO₂ | 0.036 tCO₂/MWh |