Sunday 19 July 2026
Trading day 2026-07-19
Queensland records seventy-four negative price intervals amid moderate NEM demand
Regional pricing remained relatively compressed across the NEM, with South Australia peaking at $198.00/MWh and Victoria reaching a maximum of $99.50/MWh. Queensland was the only region to experience negative pricing, with 74 intervals contributing to its $45.90/MWh average.
Evening demand peaks were synchronised across the eastern seaboard, with New South Wales reaching 10,092 MW and Queensland hitting 7,427 MW at 18:00. South Australia and Victoria peaked slightly later between 18:40 and 19:05.
Coal provided 55.1% of the total generation mix, while renewables averaged a 41.3% share across the 24-hour period. Wind contributed 15.4% of the total energy, supported by a combined solar contribution of 16.5% from utility and rooftop sources.
Storage activity saw batteries discharge 12,909 MWh, though the fleet remained a net consumer with -5,255 MWh net flow. FCAS costs were led by the Raise Regulation service in New South Wales, which totalled $26,001.
Today · Predispatch forecasts indicate a price peak of $319.04/MWh in Queensland at 19:30, with New South Wales expected to peak at $98.25/MWh.
Why it matters · The daily average of $55.80/MWh breaks a four-day run of prices exceeding $80.00/MWh, sitting significantly below the 7-day average of $65.44/MWh. This price softening occurred despite a 14.4% increase in emissions, as high negative price frequency in Queensland diverged from the positive price trends in all other regions.
Prices
Trading day · 04:00 → 04:00 AEST · 30-min average
| Region | Avg | VWAP | Min | Max | Neg | Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | $61 | $63 | $2 | $97 | 0 | 0 |
| QLD | $46 | $50 | -$7 | $85 | 74 | 0 |
| SA | $64 | $69 | $9 | $198 | 0 | 0 |
| VIC | $41 | $44 | $1 | $99 | 0 | 0 |
| TAS | $44 | $45 | $2 | $90 | 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 | $4,128 | 0 | $12 | 19 July, 15:55 |
| LOWERREG | $377 | 0 | $3 | 19 July, 14:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $218 | 0 | $1 | 19 July, 14:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $153 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $111 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $70 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 15:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $54 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 14:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $39 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:20 |
| Total | $5,149 | |||
Cost = NSW RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $3,150 | 0 | $12 | 19 July, 15:55 |
| LOWERREG | $1,238 | 0 | $3 | 19 July, 14:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $404 | 0 | $1 | 19 July, 14:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $265 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $162 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $77 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 15:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $76 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 14:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $28 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:20 |
| Total | $5,400 | |||
Cost = QLD RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $7,874 | 0 | $12 | 19 July, 15:55 |
| LOWERREG | $1,526 | 0 | $3 | 19 July, 14:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $507 | 0 | $1 | 19 July, 14:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $199 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $175 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:40 |
| LOWER5MIN | $128 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 15:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $67 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 14:10 |
| RAISE5MIN | $52 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:20 |
| Total | $10,527 | |||
Cost = VIC RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $2,912 | 0 | $12 | 19 July, 15:55 |
| LOWERREG | $2,536 | 0 | $3 | 19 July, 14:40 |
| LOWER60SEC | $354 | 0 | $1 | 19 July, 14:10 |
| RAISE6SEC | $245 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:40 |
| RAISE60SEC | $179 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:40 |
| LOWER6SEC | $105 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 14:10 |
| LOWER5MIN | $94 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 15:40 |
| RAISE5MIN | $54 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 17:20 |
| Total | $6,479 | |||
Cost = SA RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
| Service | Cost | Spikes | Peak | When |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAISEREG | $7,937 | 0 | $5 | 19 July, 12:20 |
| LOWERREG | $2,199 | 0 | $2 | 19 July, 10:00 |
| RAISE6SEC | $333 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 08:35 |
| RAISE60SEC | $327 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 07:50 |
| LOWER6SEC | $100 | 0 | $3 | 19 July, 10:25 |
| LOWER60SEC | $35 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 08:40 |
| RAISE5MIN | $15 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 08:35 |
| LOWER5MIN | $3 | 0 | $0 | 19 July, 08:40 |
| Total | $10,949 | |||
Cost = TAS RRP × cleared MW per 5-min interval.
Battery dispatch
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,312 MW at 18:30 as NSW spot hit $86/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 1,201 MW at 18:00 as QLD spot hit $80/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 762 MW at 18:00 as VIC spot hit $85/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 443 MW at 19:00 as SA spot hit $130/MWh.
Peak moment
Fleet discharged 3,567 MW at 18:30 as TAS spot hit $78/MWh.
Fleet net dispatch · spot-price overlay · 30-min average
Regional dispatch ranking
| Region | Discharged | Net |
|---|---|---|
#1QLD | 4,319MWh | -1,327 |
#2NSW | 4,273MWh | -2,635 |
#3VIC | 3,034MWh | -863 |
#4SA | 1,283MWh | -430 |
Generation Mix
- Coal64.6% · 122.0 GWh
- Gas0.6% · 1.1 GWh
- Hydro2.2% · 4.2 GWh
- Wind12.5% · 23.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)8.5% · 16.1 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)9.4% · 17.7 GWh
- Battery2.3% · 4.3 GWh
- Coal58.0% · 112.9 GWh
- Gas2.2% · 4.3 GWh
- Hydro2.6% · 5.1 GWh
- Wind13.2% · 25.7 GWh
- Solar (utility)10.5% · 20.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)11.3% · 21.9 GWh
- Battery2.2% · 4.3 GWh
- Coal64.5% · 113.8 GWh
- Gas0.3% · 0.5 GWh
- Hydro6.6% · 11.7 GWh
- Wind16.5% · 29.1 GWh
- Solar (utility)3.1% · 5.5 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)7.3% · 12.8 GWh
- Battery1.7% · 3.0 GWh
- Gas21.5% · 7.4 GWh
- Wind46.8% · 16.0 GWh
- Solar (utility)7.1% · 2.4 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)20.8% · 7.1 GWh
- Battery3.8% · 1.3 GWh
- Gas9.5% · 3.6 GWh
- Hydro81.1% · 31.2 GWh
- Wind7.7% · 3.0 GWh
- Solar (rooftop)1.7% · 0.7 GWh
Renewables
- NSW 30.3%
- VIC 38.6%
- QLD 45.5%
- SA 63.7%
- TAS 109.6%
Interconnectors
| Region (proxy) | Net flow | Direction changes | Hours at limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| N-Q-MNSP1 | +40.3 GWh | 0 | — |
| NSW1-QLD1 | −64.2 GWh | 0 | — |
| VIC1-NSW1 | +36.0 GWh | 0 | — |
| V-SA | −18.4 GWh | 6 | — |
| T-V-MNSP1 | +13.2 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 | 106.6k tCO₂ | 0.560 tCO₂/MWh |
| QLD | 100.8k tCO₂ | 0.513 tCO₂/MWh |
| SA | 3.3k tCO₂ | 0.096 tCO₂/MWh |
| VIC | 135.8k tCO₂ | 0.770 tCO₂/MWh |
| TAS | 2.2k tCO₂ | 0.058 tCO₂/MWh |