Interconnector Watch

Four of the NEM's six interconnectors are binding or at export limits this half-hour, signalling a tightly constrained network across the eastern seaboard. QNI is the standout: flowing 739.91 MW north from NSW into Queensland and pinned precisely at its import limit, meaning Queensland is drawing the maximum available transfer from NSW. Despite this, Queensland prices remain the cheapest in the NEM at $92.59/MWh, suggesting surplus generation in QLD is keeping prices anchored even as it absorbs the full QNI capacity — the constraint is binding on the NSW-export direction, capping further relief northward. The N-Q-MNSP1 (Directlink) is also binding, carrying 29.4 MW southbound into NSW at its import limit, reinforcing that every available MW is being pushed toward NSW from Queensland's direction rather than the reverse.

Heywood (V-SA) is binding at its export limit of 169.39 MW, pushing power from Victoria into South Australia. SA sits at the highest regional price in the NEM at $129.04/MWh versus Victoria's $114.69/MWh — a $14.35/MWh spread that reflects SA's import dependence and the constraint ceiling preventing further Victorian generation from closing that gap. Murraylink is also flowing Victoria-to-SA at 49.32 MW but sits well within its 152 MW export limit and is not binding, providing a small supplementary transfer. Between these two interconnectors, SA is receiving close to its maximum feasible import volume from Victoria given current network conditions.

VIC-NSW is flowing 59.47 MW northward from Victoria into NSW, well within its 684.32 MW export limit and not binding — Victoria has headroom to export more to NSW but is not being called upon to do so, consistent with NSW already being adequately supplied via QNI and domestic generation at $119.69/MWh. Basslink is flat at zero MW flow, neither importing nor exporting, and is not binding. Tasmania at $100.72/MWh sits between Victoria and NSW on price, removing any strong arbitrage incentive to push power either direction across Bass Strait at present. No constraint notices are active, so the binding conditions across QNI, Directlink, and Heywood reflect physical network limits rather than market intervention. The dominant price story today is SA's isolation premium and Queensland's surplus, with NSW caught between the two as the network's central load node.