Load Advisor — Wednesday 29 April 2026

Prices across the NEM are sitting well below typical operating levels right now, with Victoria the standout at just $8.95/MWh and South Australia at $30.73/MWh — both well below the current NSW spot of $79/MWh and QLD at $72.83/MWh. Tasmania is the dearest region at $102.02/MWh and should be avoided for any discretionary load until prices ease. The predispatch window data shows the most aggressive savings emerge overnight into the early hours of 30 April AEST, with Victoria and South Australia forecast to go deeply negative — VIC1 hitting lows around -$21/MWh between 08:30–09:30 AEST and SA1 touching -$28/MWh around the same period — representing over 100% savings against current reference prices. NSW will see its best window shift from around 08:30 AEST, with prices dropping to sub-$2/MWh and holding near floor levels through to approximately 13:30 AEST. QLD follows a similar overnight pattern, with prices tracking near or below zero from roughly 09:30 through 13:30 AEST before recovering toward the $23–$24/MWh range in the early afternoon.

The clearest load-shifting opportunity NEM-wide is the 08:30–13:30 AEST block today, where NSW, VIC, SA, and QLD all converge on very low or negative pricing. VIC and SA offer the deepest discounts in this window and are the priority targets for large flexible loads — industrial processes, thermal storage charging, water pumping, EV fleet charging, and battery dispatch scheduling should all be staged to peak within this period. The NSW overnight window from approximately 08:30 AEST is also strong, with prices forecast to stay below $1/MWh across multiple consecutive half-hours, giving operators considerable scheduling flexibility without precision timing risk.

Avoid scheduling flexible load into the 16:30–19:30 AEST period in NSW and QLD, where prices will rebuild toward the $37–$79/MWh range as evening demand ramps. Tasmania's TAS1 remains elevated across the full forecast horizon — prices are sitting above $83/MWh through most of the predispatch window with limited relief expected today given 100% cloud cover and minimal solar uplift — so load shifting in that region offers limited benefit under the current forecast. Operators with interregional exposure or interconnector access should consider maximising VIC import capability during the negative price window to offset TAS costs.

The concrete recommendation: schedule all deferrable load in NSW, VIC, SA, and QLD to run between 08:30 and 13:00 AEST today. Within that block, the 10:00–12:30 AEST window carries the lowest forecast prices across the most regions simultaneously. Set alerts for any predispatch revision above $15/MWh in VIC or $20/MWh in NSW within that window, as that would signal a premature price recovery and warrant pulling forward consumption to the earlier part of the window.