Commodity Demand — NSW1: Friday 27 March 2026

NSW spot price sits at 72.25 $/MWh at 07:30 AEST with demand at 7,067 MW — a level that is climbing steadily from the overnight trough and tracking towards the morning peak. The price has been sensitive to demand movement throughout the session: when demand pushed above 8,600 MW during the 18:30–19:40 AEST window, prices held in the 61–65 $/MWh band, but the current 72.25 $/MWh print reflects tighter dispatch conditions as demand rises at a rate that outpaces the marginal coal stack's flexibility. The generation mix is coal-heavy at 4,411 MW from black coal against just 199 MW wind and 148 MW solar, with hydro and gas sitting at zero, meaning the grid has no fast-response headroom from dispatchable renewables to buffer price spikes as demand lifts.

The overnight demand trough bottomed near 6,370–6,520 MW between 01:00–03:00 AEST, when prices repeatedly printed near zero or negative, confirming surplus base-load supply against weak Saturday night load. Demand has since recovered sharply — up roughly 700 MW from the overnight low — and the price response has been immediate and directional. The 56.8–77.3 $/MWh range seen as demand crossed 7,000–7,900 MW during the pre-dawn ramp illustrates a steep demand-price curve at this part of the dispatch stack. AEMO has issued an extensive series of Manifestly Incorrect Inputs market notices covering intervals from 01:40 through to 06:30 AEST this morning, flagging price review activity across the early morning ramp period; traders should note that final prices for those intervals remain subject to revision.

The forecast $/MWh outlook for the 08:00 AEST interval sits at 65.04 $/MWh, stepping down from the current 72.25 $/MWh print, consistent with demand stabilising rather than accelerating further into the mid-morning. Saturday demand profiles in NSW typically plateau below weekday peaks, with the daily maximum unlikely to reach the 8,500–8,700 MW levels recorded during Thursday's business-hours peak. If demand tracks the Saturday seasonal shape and holds below 8,000 MW through the morning, prices are likely to consolidate in the 61–68 $/MWh band. The key risk to the upside is any unexpected demand surge — heating demand is present at 5.4 GJ given a current temperature of 12.6°C — pushing load above 8,000 MW into a thin dispatch stack with no gas or hydro backup available to cap prices.