Load Advisor: Wednesday 6 May 2026
Queensland sits at 177.81 $/MWh right now — the highest spot price on the NEM — with NSW at 82.08 $/MWh and Tasmania at 107.47 $/MWh. Victoria is the clear outlier at 15.11 $/MWh, reflecting its current 5,883 MW load against a favourable generation position. SA sits at 44.02 $/MWh. For Queensland operators, the cost of running flexible load at this moment is severe; for Victorian operators, now is already a reasonable window.
Predispatch data shows the most compelling load-shifting opportunity across the interconnected regions falls between 10:30 AEST and 14:30 AEST today. NSW prices will drop into the $0–$11 $/MWh range, with multiple intervals forecast negative (as low as -$8.88 $/MWh around the 13:00–14:30 AEST window), representing savings of 85–107% against current spot. VIC will track similarly flat to sub-zero across the same period, consistent with its current oversupply position. SA forecast windows in the 10:00–15:00 AEST range show prices near zero to mildly negative, with the deepest troughs in the 11:30–14:30 AEST band. Queensland will see its best windows from around 10:30 AEST onward, with prices dropping to the $0–$5 $/MWh range from the current 177.81 $/MWh — a saving of over $120/MWh per interval. Tasmania's predispatch remains anchored around 85–92 $/MWh throughout the forecast horizon with minimal variation; there is no compelling intraday shift opportunity there, and operators should schedule loads during its relatively lower windows in the 88 $/MWh band rather than wait for a relief that forecasts do not indicate will arrive today.
The expected peak periods to avoid are the morning ramp (now through approximately 09:30 AEST) in QLD and NSW, where demand is lifting from overnight lows into the working day, and the evening peak from approximately 17:30–20:00 AEST across all mainland regions. Queensland's 77% cloud cover today with low solar potential means the afternoon solar suppression of midday prices will be shallower than on a clear day, but the midday trough will still materialise. NSW has only 1% cloud cover with a solar potential of 18.3 for the day, which will deepen its midday price trough; the data confirms this with multiple forecast intervals at or below $0 $/MWh between 11:00 and 15:00 AEST.
The concrete recommendation: schedule all deferrable flexible loads — industrial processes, hot water systems, battery charging, irrigation pumping — to run between 11:00 and 14:30 AEST today across NSW, VIC, SA, and QLD. NSW and VIC offer the deepest savings with sub-zero intervals; QLD offers the largest absolute dollar saving relative to current spot. Complete or curtail flexible loads before 17:30 AEST ahead of the evening peak. Tasmanian operators should treat today as a flat-price environment and schedule loads at their operational convenience, noting no meaningful intraday trough is forecast.