Commodity Demand — SA1: Friday 27 March 2026

South Australia's spot price sits at $55.83/MWh with demand at 1,351 MW as of 06:30 AEST — a moderate Saturday morning load that has been climbing steadily from an overnight trough of around 508 MW reached near 13:05 AEST. That deep overnight low, coinciding with sustained negative prices as far as -$188.99/MWh, reflects the structural surplus condition SA experiences when wind generation floods the grid against minimal nocturnal demand. The demand recovery through the pre-dawn and morning hours has tracked closely with price normalisation: as load climbed from 500 MW toward 1,350 MW, prices shifted from deeply negative territory into the $30–$60/MWh band, with only brief excursions above $60/MWh near the morning shoulder (a single spike to $129.99/MWh at 18:30 AEST stands out as an outlier against an otherwise orderly ramp).

Price sensitivity to demand shifts has been tight across the 1,300–1,650 MW band that dominated the daytime window. Within that range, prices oscillated between roughly $25/MWh and $60/MWh with no sustained breakout in either direction, suggesting the current dispatch stack is well-supplied relative to load. Wind is generating 589 MW with CCGT providing only 42 MW of thermal backup, and with solar now offline, the renewable share sits at 93.34% and carbon intensity at just 0.0326 tCO2/MWh. This generation mix means demand increments are currently being absorbed by wind without requiring expensive peaking plant, keeping the price ceiling low.

The forward price signal for the next trading interval (07:00 AEST) is forecast at $59.31/MWh — essentially flat to current — which implies the market expects demand to remain in the 1,300–1,400 MW range typical of a Saturday morning. As the day progresses into the mid-morning and early afternoon, SA's Saturday demand profile typically peaks in the 1,500–1,650 MW range before easing through the afternoon. Solar generation will begin contributing from around 07:30–08:00 AEST, which historically suppresses midday prices and can push them back toward zero or negative if wind remains strong. Traders should watch whether the solar ramp compresses the dispatch stack enough to repeat the negative pricing seen in the pre-dawn period.

One material risk flag: AEMO has issued a wave of "Prices Subject to Review" market notices covering intervals from 05:45 through 06:30 AEST today, citing Manifestly Incorrect Inputs under NER clause 3.9.2B. Several earlier intervals from the overnight session were subsequently confirmed unchanged. If today's early morning prices are revised upward following AEMO's review, settlement exposure for the 05:45–06:30 window remains open. Demand-side participants and retailers with exposure to spot pass-through should treat those intervals as provisional until AEMO confirms outcomes.