Interconnector Watch

Interconnector flows at 16:30 AEST are unbound across the entire NEM, with no active constraint notices — a relatively benign Saturday afternoon picture. The most significant flow is on Heywood (V-SA), carrying 476 MW westward from Victoria into South Australia against an export limit of 557.68 MW, representing approximately 85% utilisation. That sustained westward push is consistent with SA's price premium: SA sits at $138/MWh against Victoria's $124.33/MWh, a $13.67/MWh spread that is incentivising near-capacity export across the interconnector. Murraylink (V-S-MNSP1) adds a further 45 MW into SA in the same direction, though at modest utilisation relative to its 134 MW export limit.

On the QNI (NSW1-QLD1), flow is running 368.24 MW northward from NSW into Queensland — 48% of the 760 MW import limit from Queensland's perspective — with Queensland pricing at $99/MWh, the cheapest region in the NEM, against NSW at $104.89/MWh. The modest $5.89/MWh spread explains why QNI is moving meaningful volume northward but sitting well clear of its limit. The Directlink (N-Q-MNSP1) is contributing a minor 17 MW southward from Queensland into NSW, consistent with that same price gradient.

VIC-NSW is carrying 103.67 MW southward from NSW into Victoria and is effectively pinned at its current import limit of 103.67 MW — notable given Victoria's $124.33/MWh price sits $19.44/MWh above NSW. This binding import limit is capping the arbitrage opportunity and partially explaining why Victoria's price remains elevated relative to NSW rather than converging. Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is flat at 0 MW, indicating Tasmania and Victoria are in price equilibrium at $107.67/MWh and $124.33/MWh respectively — that spread would ordinarily pull Tasmanian generation south, suggesting Basslink may be constrained by hydro dispatch or scheduling rather than economics alone.