NEM
NEM Daily analysis

Saturday 18 July 2026

Trading day 2026-07-18

Market Snapshot

Queensland prices decouple as regional demand peaks converge across the NEM

Regional price averages ranged from 52.80 dollars per megawatt hour in Queensland to 90.20 dollars per megawatt hour in South Australia. While Queensland experienced significant negative pricing, New South Wales and Victoria saw maximum prices reach 194.10 and 200.90 dollars per megawatt hour respectively.

System demand peaked between 18:00 and 18:55 across all regions, with New South Wales reaching a maximum load of 9,924 megawatts. Total energy consumption for the day was highest in New South Wales at 385.8 gigawatt hours, followed by Victoria at 285.3 gigawatt hours.

Renewable generation reached an instantaneous peak of 63.5 percent at 12:45, supported by a combined solar contribution of 18.5 percent. Batteries discharged 15,320 megawatt hours throughout the day, while hydro and wind generation accounted for 8.9 percent and 8.2 percent of the mix.

Total emissions rose 11.3 percent compared to the same day last week, reaching 373,362 tonnes of carbon dioxide. FCAS costs remained subdued, with the highest single service cost recorded in the Raise Regulation category at 32,005 dollars.

Today · Predispatch forecasts indicate a price peak of 319.04 dollars per megawatt hour in Queensland at 19:30 tonight.

Why it matters · The daily average of 82.60 dollars per megawatt hour sits 42.1 percent above the seven-day average, extending a four-day run of elevated pricing. This trend persists despite a high instantaneous renewable peak of 63.5 percent and significant battery activity, as regional price divergence remains sharp.

NSW $79VIC $85QLD $53SA $90TAS $76
Numbers-only recap · gemini-3-flash-preview

Prices

Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average

NSW VIC QLD SA TAS
$0 $43 $85 $128 $170 $0 $43 $85 $128 $170 -$10 $25 $60 $95 $130 $0 $43 $85 $128 $170 $0 $38 $75 $113 $150 04:00 10:00 16:00 22:00 04:00
Region Avg VWAP Min Max Neg Cap
NSW $79 $81 $1 $194 0 0
QLD $53 $58 -$7 $156 114 0
SA $90 $98 $1 $208 0 0
VIC $85 $88 $1 $201 0 0
TAS $76 $77 $20 $181 0 0

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

Demand

NSW
Peak
9,924MW
18:00
Trough
6,566MW
13:35
Energy
385.8GWh
QLD
Peak
7,269MW
18:00
Trough
3,794MW
12:05
Energy
271.1GWh
SA
Peak
1,895MW
18:55
Trough
441MW
14:00
Energy
65.0GWh
VIC
Peak
7,414MW
18:40
Trough
4,201MW
14:15
Energy
285.3GWh
TAS
Peak
1,333MW
18:00
Trough
985MW
13:50
Energy
56.2GWh

FCAS

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$4,9450$1118 July, 05:20
LOWERREG$5440$518 July, 15:15
RAISE6SEC$2020$018 July, 04:35
RAISE60SEC$1610$018 July, 07:55
LOWER60SEC$1500$018 July, 13:15
RAISE5MIN$710$018 July, 07:45
LOWER6SEC$530$018 July, 13:40
LOWER5MIN$450$018 July, 15:20
Total$6,171

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$6,0200$1118 July, 05:20
LOWERREG$2,3300$518 July, 15:15
LOWER60SEC$4330$018 July, 13:15
RAISE6SEC$3680$018 July, 04:35
RAISE60SEC$2250$018 July, 04:35
LOWER6SEC$1120$018 July, 13:40
LOWER5MIN$810$018 July, 15:20
RAISE5MIN$630$018 July, 07:45
Total$9,633

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$8,5140$1118 July, 05:20
LOWERREG$2,0300$518 July, 15:15
RAISE60SEC$3340$018 July, 07:55
RAISE6SEC$3170$018 July, 04:35
LOWER60SEC$2640$018 July, 13:15
RAISE5MIN$1110$018 July, 07:45
LOWER6SEC$690$018 July, 13:40
LOWER5MIN$600$018 July, 15:20
Total$11,698

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$3,5130$1118 July, 05:20
LOWERREG$2,8920$518 July, 15:15
RAISE6SEC$2910$018 July, 04:35
RAISE60SEC$2130$018 July, 07:55
LOWER60SEC$1920$018 July, 13:15
LOWER6SEC$740$018 July, 13:40
RAISE5MIN$730$018 July, 07:45
LOWER5MIN$590$018 July, 15:20
Total$7,308

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

ServiceCostSpikesPeakWhen
RAISEREG$9,0120$1918 July, 20:10
LOWERREG$2,4490$5018 July, 07:35
RAISE60SEC$2370$318 July, 14:25
RAISE6SEC$1880$018 July, 09:15
LOWER60SEC$350$018 July, 13:15
LOWER6SEC$310$018 July, 14:05
RAISE5MIN$60$018 July, 14:05
LOWER5MIN$00$018 July, 14:05
Total$11,957

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

Battery dispatch

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,385 MW at 18:00 as NSW spot hit $93/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 1,188 MW at 18:30 as QLD spot hit $79/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 779 MW at 19:00 as VIC spot hit $111/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 339 MW at 19:00 as SA spot hit $118/MWh.

Peak moment

Fleet discharged 3,395 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $96/MWh.

Discharged
5,476MWh
peak 1,385 MW · 18:00
Charged
6,873MWh
peak 1,417 MW
Net
-1,397MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
80%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
4,691MWh
peak 1,188 MW · 18:30
Charged
5,828MWh
peak 1,250 MW
Net
-1,137MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
80%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
3,737MWh
peak 779 MW · 19:00
Charged
4,322MWh
peak 917 MW
Net
-585MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
86%
discharge / charge ratio
Discharged
1,417MWh
peak 339 MW · 19:00
Charged
1,787MWh
peak 497 MW
Net
-370MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
79%
discharge / charge ratio
NEM-wide
Discharged
15,320MWh
peak 3,395 MW · 18:30
Charged
18,809MWh
peak 3,509 MW
Net
-3,489MWh
discharge − charge
Round-trip
81%
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-$50$0$50$100$150$20023:3006:3713:4520:5204:00

Regional dispatch ranking

RegionDischargedNet
#1NSW
5,476MWh
-1,397
#2QLD
4,691MWh
-1,137
#3VIC
3,737MWh
-585
#4SA
1,417MWh
-370

Generation Mix

TOP FUEL 67.5%
  • Coal67.5% · 136.0 GWh
  • Gas0.5% · 1.1 GWh
  • Hydro1.7% · 3.5 GWh
  • Wind6.5% · 13.1 GWh
  • Solar (utility)11.2% · 22.6 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)9.9% · 19.9 GWh
  • Battery2.7% · 5.5 GWh
TOP FUEL 58.5%
  • Coal58.5% · 117.5 GWh
  • Gas2.6% · 5.1 GWh
  • Hydro2.5% · 4.9 GWh
  • Wind10.7% · 21.4 GWh
  • Solar (utility)10.7% · 21.5 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)12.8% · 25.6 GWh
  • Battery2.3% · 4.7 GWh
TOP FUEL 67.7%
  • Coal67.7% · 114.6 GWh
  • Gas3.3% · 5.7 GWh
  • Hydro11.4% · 19.3 GWh
  • Wind4.1% · 7.0 GWh
  • Solar (utility)3.2% · 5.4 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)8.0% · 13.5 GWh
  • Battery2.2% · 3.7 GWh
TOP FUEL 45.3%
  • Gas45.3% · 15.6 GWh
  • Wind20.8% · 7.2 GWh
  • Solar (utility)7.7% · 2.6 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)22.1% · 7.6 GWh
  • Battery4.1% · 1.4 GWh
TOP FUEL 76.3%
  • Gas11.8% · 4.5 GWh
  • Hydro76.3% · 29.5 GWh
  • Wind10.7% · 4.1 GWh
  • Solar (rooftop)1.3% · 0.5 GWh
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:0010.5 GW 0
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:009.8 GW 0
coalgashydrobattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:008.0 GW 0
gasbattery dischargewindsolar utilitysolar rooftopBattery (charge)
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:001.9 GW 0
gashydrowindsolar rooftop
23:3005:3711:4517:5200:001.8 GW 0

Renewables

NSW · Daily renewable share
29.0%
VIC · Daily renewable share
29.7%
QLD · Daily renewable share
45.0%
SA · Daily renewable share
44.6%
TAS · Daily renewable share
109.6%
Peak instantaneous
63.5%
at 12:45
Daily NEM-wide share
36.7%
By region (daily share)
  • NSW
    29.0%
  • VIC
    29.7%
  • QLD
    45.0%
  • SA
    44.6%
  • TAS
    109.6%

Interconnectors

Region (proxy) Net flow Direction changes Hours at limit
N-Q-MNSP1 +49.6 GWh 0 —
NSW1-QLD1 −47.6 GWh 0 —
VIC1-NSW1 +3.8 GWh 42 —
V-SA −15.8 GWh 4 —
T-V-MNSP1 +15.8 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

Total emissions
373.4k tCO₂
▲ 11.3% vs same day last week
Intensity by region
NSW 118.9k tCO₂ 0.582 tCO₂/MWh
QLD 105.1k tCO₂ 0.518 tCO₂/MWh
SA 7.2k tCO₂ 0.204 tCO₂/MWh
VIC 139.4k tCO₂ 0.823 tCO₂/MWh
TAS 2.7k tCO₂ 0.072 tCO₂/MWh