Load Advisor

SA is the standout opportunity today: prices are currently negative at -$20/MWh and will crater further, with predispatch showing values below -$59/MWh through the 08:30–09:00 AEST window (UTC+10). Any flexible load in SA — industrial refrigeration, water treatment, BESS charging, EV fleets — should be maximised now and through to at least 09:00 AEST, with savings of up to $75/MWh versus current spot.

VIC is the second-best mainland option. Prices are sitting at $31.23/MWh spot but predispatch shows negative prices emerging from around 08:00 AEST (UTC+10 08:00–09:00), with values touching -$16/MWh, representing savings of over $44/MWh versus the current rate. Load managers in Victoria should target the 08:00–09:30 AEST window for deferrable loads. QLD offers a strong shift opportunity across the 08:00–09:30 AEST window, where predispatch forecasts prices collapsing from $91.75/MWh to near zero (low of ~$0/MWh), delivering savings of over $91/MWh — the largest percentage saving of any NEM region today. Loads currently running in QLD should be curtailed immediately where possible and rescheduled into the 09:00 AEST half-hour. NSW will see prices ease from $87.43/MWh to $35–$36/MWh from around 08:00 AEST, with the best windows in the 08:30–09:00 AEST band at ~$3.49–$6/MWh, delivering savings of over $81/MWh. Predispatch forecasts for NSW hold at ~$65/MWh for the evening period, so the morning window is clearly the optimal target.

TAS is the exception: prices are locked at $96.24/MWh with no meaningful relief forecast through to 09:00 AEST and predispatch confirming that level holds all day. Tasmanian operators should defer all non-critical flexible load entirely and avoid running anything discretionary until interconnector conditions change. WA data is stale and should not be used for today's scheduling decisions.

The concrete recommendation: schedule all deferrable NEM loads — pump storage charging, desalination, industrial process loads, EV charging, cold storage pull-down — into the 08:30–09:30 AEST window, prioritising QLD first (near-zero pricing), then SA (negative pricing), then NSW and VIC. Avoid TAS entirely. Evening peak risk is moderate in NSW (~$65/MWh forecast) and elevated in QLD (~$72–$75/MWh forecast), so loads shifted out of the morning window should not rebound into the 18:00–20:00 AEST evening demand peak.