Interconnector Watch: Tuesday 28 April 2026

Interconnector conditions at 06:30 AEST are defined by one binding constraint: QNI (NSW1-QLD1) is fully loaded at its import limit of -717.16 MW, meaning Queensland is importing from New South Wales at maximum capacity. This hard constraint directly explains the $13.88/MWh price spread between NSW ($98.61/MWh) and QLD ($84.73/MWh) — NSW generators are the marginal supply source for Queensland, but QNI cannot carry any additional volume northward, locking in that differential. The northward export limit on QNI is effectively unavailable at just 35.12 MW, confirming the constraint is asymmetric and binding in one direction only.

The VIC-NSW interconnector (VIC1-NSW1) is carrying 144 MW northward from Victoria into NSW, operating well within its 836.37 MW export ceiling at around 17% utilisation. Victoria's price of $92.36/MWh sits below NSW's $98.61/MWh, consistent with this south-to-north flow direction. Heywood (V-SA) is exporting 233.79 MW from Victoria into South Australia against a 573.59 MW export limit, placing utilisation at roughly 41% with no binding constraint. SA's price of $96.13/MWh is marginally above Victoria's, reflecting a modest but real incentive to import across Heywood. Murraylink (V-S-MNSP1) carries a smaller supplementary flow of 18 MW into SA, also well within its 98 MW export limit.

Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is sitting at zero flow between Tasmania ($97.07/MWh) and Victoria ($92.36/MWh). With Tasmania priced above Victoria, a positive export flow into Victoria would be the expected commercial response, so the flat position warrants monitoring — this may reflect scheduling decisions, hydro dispatch strategy, or Basslink operational conditions rather than a constraint notice, as no market notices are currently active. The Directlink (N-Q-MNSP1) is carrying -57 MW toward NSW at 44% of its -129.5 MW import limit, not binding.

The dominant market dynamic right now is the binding QNI constraint suppressing Queensland prices relative to the rest of the NEM. Absent any active constraint notices, the other interconnectors are flowing in directions consistent with prevailing price spreads and operating with meaningful headroom. Traders holding cross-regional positions on the NSW-QLD spread should note that QNI is at its ceiling — any demand lift in Queensland or supply reduction in NSW has no additional interconnector capacity to absorb it, making the spread sensitive to intra-regional dispatch changes on both sides.