Commodity Demand — QLD1: Thursday 23 April 2026

Queensland spot price is 84.73 $/MWh at 6,515 MW total demand as of 06:30 AEST, with prices climbing sharply over the past hour from 71.83 $/MWh at 6,229 MW — a 17.9% price increase on a demand lift of just 286 MW. That sensitivity reflects where the grid is sitting on the supply stack: autumn evening load is mobilising dispatchable capacity at the margin, with black coal contributing 2,472.69 MW and hydro 64.5 MW, but solar output has effectively reached zero (0.2 MW) as the sun sets, removing the price suppression that kept midday prices in the 52–68 $/MWh band while demand sat in the 6,100–6,700 MW range.

The day's price-demand relationship tells a clear story. Overnight demand troughed around 4,560–4,640 MW between roughly 11:00–12:00 AEST, when spot prices held at or below zero for extended periods — as low as -4.09 $/MWh — driven by surplus generation relative to minimum operational demand. As demand climbed through the morning from approximately 14:30 AEST (demand in the 5,800–6,000 MW range), prices stepped back into the 52–65 $/MWh corridor and held there through the afternoon. The price-demand relationship was relatively flat in that band, indicating sufficient supply headroom. The steepening price response visible from around 05:30 AEST (19:30 local) as demand crossed 6,000 MW and began accelerating toward the current 6,515 MW marks the point where marginal cost dispatch is being drawn from higher-priced units.

AEMO forecasts the next dispatch interval at approximately 79.98 $/MWh, consistent with the near-term forecast series that has been anchoring the 21:00 AEST window in the 79–80 $/MWh range since mid-afternoon. Multiple intervals from 20:00 AEST onward carry active PRICES SUBJECT TO REVIEW market notices under NER clause 3.9.2B, covering intervals from 20:20 through to 20:30 AEST and a substantial sequence through the earlier evening — traders should note these prices remain subject to possible revision. One confirmed notice (21:25 interval) resolved unchanged after review, suggesting AEMO is monitoring but not currently revising outcomes. A Mudgeeraba–Terranora 110 kV line contingency reclassification was active between approximately 18:53 and 19:59 AEST due to lightning; that constraint has since been revoked with no constraint sets invoked, so network impact on tonight's pricing appears contained.

Looking ahead through today, demand is forecast to plateau or ease from its current 6,515 MW as the evening peak passes, with the 21:30 AEST forecast at 71.83 $/MWh — down from the current 84.73 $/MWh print — suggesting dispatchers expect load to moderate. Overnight load windows point to prices returning to near-zero and negative territory from approximately 08:00 AEST onward as the same overnight demand trough pattern reasserts itself. The morning ramp from around 14:30–15:00 AEST will be the next price-sensitive period to watch, with Friday business demand potentially sustaining load higher into the midday period