Interconnector Watch

NEM-wide interconnectors are running with two binding links at 07:00 AEST, shaping a clear price gradient across the eastern grid. QNI (NSW1-QLD1) is fully saturated at its import limit of -725.4 MW — flow is northward from NSW into QLD at 725.4 MW, pinned exactly at the binding import limit of 725.39 MW. This constraint is preventing further arbitrage despite QLD sitting at the lowest regional price of $71.69/MWh against NSW at $84.79/MWh, a $13.10/MWh spread that would otherwise incentivise greater southbound flow. The Heywood interconnector (V-SA) is simultaneously binding on its export limit, pushing 193.38 MW from VIC into SA at exactly the 193.38 MW export cap. With SA priced at $86.77/MWh and VIC at $73.48/MWh — a $13.29/MWh differential — Heywood is fully utilised in the higher-value direction and the constraint is directly sustaining that SA price premium.

VIC-NSW is flowing 625.07 MW northward from VIC into NSW against an export limit of 865.25 MW, leaving roughly 240 MW of headroom and sitting unbound. This flow is consistent with VIC's lower price ($73.48/MWh) relative to NSW ($84.79/MWh), with the interconnector providing partial arbitrage relief but not enough to close the spread given QNI's binding condition to the north. Murraylink (V-S-MNSP1) is carrying 70.06 MW from VIC into SA, operating comfortably within its 170 MW export limit with no binding constraint. Combined with Heywood, total VIC-to-SA transfer sits at approximately 263 MW, reinforcing SA's supply position but insufficient to eliminate the $13.29/MWh price gap given Heywood's cap.

Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is at zero flow this interval, sitting well within its ±125 MW envelope and not binding in either direction. TAS is the highest-priced mainland-connected region at $88.18/MWh with demand of 1,041.83 MW, and the absence of southward flow into VIC at $73.48/MWh is notable — this may reflect intra-dispatch conditions, Basslink scheduling decisions, or Tasmanian system requirements not captured in this snapshot. No constraint notices are active across the NEM at this time. The dominant market dynamic today is the dual binding condition on QNI and Heywood, which is locking in price separation between QLD, NSW, VIC, and SA and limiting the grid's ability to equalise costs across those regions.