Interconnector Watch: Tuesday 31 March 2026
Six interconnectors are active across the NEM at 06:35 AEST, with two running at binding limits and a clear west-to-east price gradient shaping flow direction. VIC1-NSW1 (VIC-NSW interconnector) is exporting 696 MW northbound from Victoria into NSW at its export limit, a binding constraint that is directly consistent with the $67/MWh price spread between the two regions — Victoria sits at $11/MWh while NSW clears at $78.21/MWh. Simultaneously, NSW1-QLD1 (QNI) is flowing 719 MW southbound from Queensland into NSW, also binding at its import limit of -718.96 MW. QLD at $66.30/MWh is pricing above NSW on a gross basis, but the binding QNI flow indicates the southward movement is constrained to its limit, supporting Queensland's price premium over Victoria rather than collapsing the NSW-QLD spread further. The combined effect places NSW at the centre of two binding import flows, drawing from both ends of the interconnected grid simultaneously.
On the southern and island links, Heywood (V-SA) is carrying 306 MW westbound from Victoria into SA, utilising its export capacity but not binding, as the $30.94/MWh spread between SA ($41.94/MWh) and VIC ($11/MWh) provides the economic incentive. Murraylink (V-S-MNSP1) adds a further 17 MW westbound to SA at its export limit, though at that magnitude the constraint is not materially market-moving. Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is carrying just 0.77 MW southbound from Victoria into Tasmania, binding at that negligible import limit — Tasmania prices at $111.93/MWh, the highest in the NEM, suggesting Basslink's effective import capacity into Tasmania is exhausted at near-zero, leaving the island region to clear on its own generation stack. The DirectLink N-Q-MNSP1 between NSW and Queensland carries 57 MW southbound toward NSW and is not binding, with 80 MW of headroom remaining to its import limit of -137 MW.
No constraint market notices are active in the data. Loss figures are not reported for this interval across any interconnector. The dominant market signal today is the $67/MWh VIC-NSW spread driving maximum northward flow on VIC-NSW, while Tasmania's isolation from meaningful interconnector support sustains its $111.93/MWh price well above all mainland regions. Traders with exposure to NSW basis should note both binding flows are directed into that region, and any relaxation of either constraint — through dispatch change or limit recalculation — could shift NSW prices materially relative to both Queensland and Victoria.