Thursday 16 July 2026
Trading day 2026-07-16
Queensland prices decouple as regional average rises forty-three percent above weekly mean
Regional average prices ranged from 64.50 dollars per megawatt hour in Queensland to 109.10 dollars in South Australia. While Queensland experienced 84 negative intervals, South Australia saw a daily maximum of 208.90 dollars per megawatt hour. New South Wales and Victoria recorded similar averages of 95.20 and 98.40 dollars respectively.
Operational demand peaked in the evening across most regions, with New South Wales reaching 11,174 megawatts at 18:30. Queensland and Victoria also saw significant evening peaks of 8,010 megawatts and 7,988 megawatts. Total energy consumption for the day was highest in New South Wales at 440.3 gigawatt hours.
Renewables contributed a 34.9 percent share of total generation, reaching an instantaneous peak of 57.1 percent at 10:50. Wind and hydro generation provided 9.1 percent and 9.6 percent respectively, while utility and rooftop solar combined for 15.1 percent. Coal remained the primary fuel source at 58.3 percent of the total energy mix.
Battery storage systems discharged 16,296 megawatt hours to the grid, resulting in a net discharge of 4,180 megawatt hours. FCAS costs remained low across all services, with the highest total cost of 30,333 dollars occurring in the New South Wales Raise Regulation market.
Today · Pre-dispatch forecasts indicate a price peak of 319.04 dollars per megawatt hour in Queensland at 19:30.
Why it matters · The daily average of 91.30 dollars per megawatt hour sits 42.8 percent above the 7-day average, extending a two-day upward trend. This price elevation occurred despite a 34.9 percent renewable share and net battery discharge, as Queensland's frequent negative intervals failed to offset high evening peaks in southern regions.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $95 | $96 | $28 | $175 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $65 | $69 | -$9 | $175 | 84 | 0 |
| SA | $109 | $114 | $29 | $209 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $98 | $100 | $29 | $167 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | $87 | $88 | $20 | $150 | 0 | 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 | $3,816 | 0 | $11 | 16 July, 09:20 |
| LOWERREG | $356 | 0 | $8 | 16 July, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $280 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $224 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| LOWER60SEC | $141 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 15:25 |
| LOWER5MIN | $121 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 15:30 |
| RAISE5MIN | $84 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $37 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 13:55 |
| Total | $5,058 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LOWER60SEC | $18,795 | 0 | $15 | 16 July, 09:00 |
| LOWER6SEC | $18,423 | 0 | $15 | 16 July, 09:00 |
| RAISEREG | $4,365 | 0 | $11 | 16 July, 09:20 |
| LOWER5MIN | $1,717 | 0 | $5 | 16 July, 09:35 |
| LOWERREG | $1,537 | 0 | $8 | 16 July, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $334 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $183 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 18:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $58 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| Total | $45,412 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,305 | 0 | $11 | 16 July, 09:20 |
| LOWERREG | $2,083 | 0 | $8 | 16 July, 15:10 |
| RAISE60SEC | $446 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| RAISE6SEC | $418 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| LOWER60SEC | $265 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 15:25 |
| RAISE5MIN | $121 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| LOWER5MIN | $113 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 15:30 |
| LOWER6SEC | $35 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 13:55 |
| Total | $11,786 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $5,972 | 0 | $11 | 16 July, 09:20 |
| LOWERREG | $3,247 | 0 | $8 | 16 July, 15:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $400 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| RAISE60SEC | $333 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| LOWER60SEC | $168 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 15:25 |
| RAISE5MIN | $96 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| LOWER5MIN | $91 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 15:30 |
| LOWER6SEC | $55 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 13:55 |
| Total | $10,361 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $7,875 | 0 | $5 | 16 July, 14:45 |
| LOWERREG | $3,165 | 0 | $50 | 16 July, 14:45 |
| LOWER5MIN | $27 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 15:30 |
| LOWER60SEC | $2 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 15:25 |
| RAISE60SEC | $2 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| RAISE6SEC | $0 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 09:20 |
| RAISE5MIN | $0 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 07:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $0 | 0 | $0 | 16 July, 13:55 |
| Total | $11,072 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,460 MW at 18:00 as NSW spot hit $117/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,252 MW at 18:00 as QLD spot hit $102/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 844 MW at 19:30 as VIC spot hit $111/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 328 MW at 19:00 as SA spot hit $124/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,593 MW at 18:00 as TAS spot hit $109/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 6,104MWh | -1,469 |
#2QLD | 5,090MWh | -1,296 |
#3VIC | 3,709MWh | -978 |
#4SA | 1,393MWh | -437 |
Generation Mix
- Coal69.8% · 162.1 GWh
- Gas0.5% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro2.4% · 5.6 GWh
- Wind8.2% · 18.9 GWh
- Solar (utility)9.1% · 21.2 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)7.4% · 17.2 GWh
- Battery2.6% · 6.1 GWh
- Coal62.1% · 128.5 GWh
- Gas1.7% · 3.5 GWh
- Hydro2.6% · 5.3 GWh
- Wind11.8% · 24.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)8.2% · 16.9 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)11.2% · 23.3 GWh
- Battery2.5% · 5.1 GWh
- Coal66.0% · 114.1 GWh
- Gas5.2% · 9.0 GWh
- Hydro13.2% · 22.8 GWh
- Wind4.5% · 7.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)4.6% · 8.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)4.3% · 7.5 GWh
- Battery2.1% · 3.7 GWh
- Gas49.2% · 19.5 GWh
- Wind21.4% · 8.5 GWh
- Solar (utility)6.7% · 2.7 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)19.1% · 7.6 GWh
- Battery3.5% · 1.4 GWh
- Gas12.1% · 5.1 GWh
- Hydro77.7% · 32.8 GWh
- Wind8.2% · 3.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)2.1% · 0.9 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 26.9%
- VIC 28.7%
- QLD 40.6%
- SA 43.2%
- TAS 111.9%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +41.0 GWh | 4 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −34.9 GWh | 6 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | −3.4 GWh | 26 | — |
| V-SA | −16.4 GWh | 14 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +18.6 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 | 141.8k tCO₂ | 0.603 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 112.7k tCO₂ | 0.538 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 9.6k tCO₂ | 0.237 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 140.9k tCO₂ | 0.814 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 3.0k tCO₂ | 0.074 tCO₂/MWh |