Friday 17 July 2026
Trading day 2026-07-17
South Australia average price exceeds one hundred dollars amid high demand
Regional average prices ranged from $83.80/MWh in Tasmania to $109.30/MWh in South Australia, with no negative price intervals recorded across the market. New South Wales reached a peak demand of 10,769 MW at 17:45, while Queensland peaked later at 18:25 with 7,752 MW.
Renewable generation reached an instantaneous peak share of 56.2% at 11:55, supported by a combined solar contribution of 15.2%. Wind and hydro generation provided 7.7% and 9.1% of the total energy mix respectively throughout the trading day.
Battery storage systems discharged 16,460 MWh into the grid, though the technology remained a net consumer with a balance of -268 MWh. Total market emissions were 409,356 tonnes of CO2, reflecting a marginal 0.2% increase compared to the same day last week.
FCAS costs were led by the Raise Regulation service in New South Wales at $32,976, followed by Lower Regulation in Tasmania. Interconnector flows showed significant movement from Victoria into New South Wales and from Tasmania into the mainland via Basslink.
Today · Queensland is forecast to reach a peak price of $319.04/MWh at 19:30, while other regions expect peaks between $61.84 and $145.00.
Why it matters · The daily average of $91.10/MWh sits 53.2% above the seven-day average, extending a three-day run of prices significantly higher than the mid-week lows. This price elevation occurred despite a healthy 33.4% renewable share and the absence of any cap-level price spikes or FCAS volatility.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $98 | $99 | $43 | $156 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $85 | $86 | $30 | $129 | 0 | 0 |
| SA | $109 | $116 | $34 | $260 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $93 | $96 | $20 | $157 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | $84 | $84 | $20 | $140 | 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 | $4,618 | 0 | $14 | 17 July, 09:35 |
| LOWERREG | $490 | 0 | $4 | 17 July, 11:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $237 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 08:10 |
| RAISE60SEC | $163 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 20:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $135 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $95 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $77 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 18:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $44 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 12:50 |
| Total | $5,859 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $5,226 | 0 | $14 | 17 July, 09:35 |
| LOWERREG | $2,246 | 0 | $4 | 17 July, 11:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $394 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 08:10 |
| LOWER60SEC | $209 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $194 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 20:05 |
| LOWER6SEC | $128 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $62 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 18:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $47 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 12:50 |
| Total | $8,507 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $8,713 | 0 | $14 | 17 July, 09:35 |
| LOWERREG | $1,846 | 0 | $4 | 17 July, 11:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $334 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 08:10 |
| RAISE60SEC | $311 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 20:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $156 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $119 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $109 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 18:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $32 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 12:50 |
| Total | $11,619 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $6,654 | 0 | $14 | 17 July, 09:35 |
| LOWERREG | $2,100 | 0 | $4 | 17 July, 11:30 |
| RAISE6SEC | $351 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 08:10 |
| RAISE60SEC | $250 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 20:05 |
| LOWER60SEC | $166 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $121 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:15 |
| RAISE5MIN | $87 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 18:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $60 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 12:50 |
| Total | $9,789 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $7,766 | 0 | $13 | 17 July, 16:30 |
| LOWERREG | $2,893 | 0 | $50 | 17 July, 05:35 |
| RAISE6SEC | $33 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 14:25 |
| RAISE60SEC | $33 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 14:25 |
| LOWER6SEC | $6 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:15 |
| LOWER60SEC | $6 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 13:40 |
| RAISE5MIN | $0 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 15:05 |
| LOWER5MIN | $0 | 0 | $0 | 17 July, 12:50 |
| Total | $10,737 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,271 MW at 18:00 as NSW spot hit $132/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,286 MW at 18:00 as QLD spot hit $118/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 855 MW at 19:30 as VIC spot hit $116/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 293 MW at 20:00 as SA spot hit $129/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,431 MW at 18:00 as TAS spot hit $118/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1NSW | 5,399MWh | +433 |
#2QLD | 4,903MWh | -315 |
#3VIC | 4,527MWh | -163 |
#4SA | 1,631MWh | -224 |
Generation Mix
- Coal70.5% · 155.5 GWh
- Gas0.6% · 1.4 GWh
- Hydro2.2% · 4.9 GWh
- Wind7.3% · 16.0 GWh
- Solar (utility)9.2% · 20.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)7.1% · 15.8 GWh
- Battery2.4% · 5.4 GWh
- Other0.6% · 1.3 GWh
- Coal65.1% · 134.4 GWh
- Gas2.6% · 5.4 GWh
- Hydro2.5% · 5.2 GWh
- Wind9.8% · 20.3 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.9% · 16.3 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)9.2% · 19.1 GWh
- Battery2.4% · 4.9 GWh
- Other0.4% · 0.7 GWh
- Coal65.5% · 115.0 GWh
- Gas4.7% · 8.3 GWh
- Hydro11.8% · 20.8 GWh
- Wind3.4% · 6.0 GWh
- Solar (utility)4.0% · 7.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)8.0% · 14.0 GWh
- Battery2.6% · 4.5 GWh
- Gas54.1% · 19.5 GWh
- Wind12.2% · 4.4 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.3% · 2.6 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)21.9% · 7.9 GWh
- Battery4.5% · 1.6 GWh
- Gas11.4% · 4.8 GWh
- Hydro74.0% · 31.2 GWh
- Wind13.2% · 5.5 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)1.4% · 0.6 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 25.8%
- VIC 30.8%
- QLD 36.1%
- SA 35.0%
- TAS 111.7%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +42.5 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −47.2 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +14.2 GWh | 28 | — |
| V-SA | −22.2 GWh | 0 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +17.7 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 | 136.0k tCO₂ | 0.614 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 119.6k tCO₂ | 0.575 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 9.5k tCO₂ | 0.256 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 141.4k tCO₂ | 0.799 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.9k tCO₂ | 0.070 tCO₂/MWh |