Commodity Demand — TAS1: Thursday 26 March 2026

Tasmania sits at 1,159.94 MW with a spot price of $106.24/MWh at 07:05 AEST, the highest point in the current trading session and up sharply from the $96.24/MWh floor that dominated most of today's price history. The demand trajectory tells the story clearly: load troughed around 852 MW in the early afternoon before climbing steadily through the evening, adding roughly 300 MW over six hours to reach current levels. That 35% demand lift from trough to now has pushed prices through the $96.24/MWh ceiling that held for much of the day, with brief excursions to $113.84/MWh observed during the 07:30–07:35 AEST window as demand crossed 1,020 MW on its way up.

Price sensitivity in Tasmania is characterised by a clear step-function behaviour rather than smooth price-demand correlation. Below approximately 950 MW, prices traded freely in the $40–$90/MWh range, frequently touching the $40.24/MWh floor during the midday trough as renewable oversupply — wind at 186.73 MW and hydro at 350.24 MW producing 100% renewable output — exceeded native demand. Once demand climbed back above 1,050 MW through the 06:00–07:00 AEST window, prices snapped firmly to $96.24/MWh and above, reflecting tighter supply margins on Basslink and constrained local dispatch headroom.

The forecast RRP for the near-term intervals holds at $96.24/MWh, suggesting AEMO's dispatch engine anticipates some demand easing from the current 1,159 MW peak as the evening progresses into the 08:00 AEST hour. However, the current print of $106.24/MWh indicates realised demand is running ahead of pre-dispatch expectations. Notably, an earlier TAS1 lightning-related contingency reclassification of the Sheffield–George Town 220 kV double circuit (Market Notice 137368, invoked at 17:32 AEST, cancelled 21:22 AEST) temporarily constrained the Basslink interconnector T-V-MNSP1, which would have tightened local supply margins and amplified the price sensitivity seen during the early evening demand ramp.

With heating demand registering 12.3 units against a temperature of 5.7°C and cloud cover at 70%, tonight's load profile is firmly winter-shoulder in character. Demand is unlikely to drop materially before the 09:00–10:00 AEST window, keeping spot prices anchored at or above $96.24/MWh through the immediate near-term. Any unexpected Basslink flow reduction or further transmission constraint issuance would be the key upside price risk for the remainder of the morning.