Load Advisor: Tuesday 2 June 2026
NEM-wide spot prices are sharply divergent right now, with QLD sitting at $97.96/MWh and TAS at $80.20/MWh while VIC trades at $3.11/MWh and SA at $2.86/MWh — a spread of over $95/MWh across the interconnected grid. NSW is at $68.26/MWh with 8,304 MW of demand, and QLD carries 6,618 MW. These elevated prices in QLD and TAS reflect June evening heating demand and constrained interconnector capacity. The priority action for any flexible load currently consuming in QLD, NSW, or TAS is to defer immediately.
The deepest savings windows open tonight from 11:00 AEST through to approximately 14:30 AEST (01:00–04:30 UTC). NSW predispatch forecasts prices bottoming at $0.91–$1.41/MWh across the 11:30–13:30 AEST band, with several intervals dipping negative to around -$3.19/MWh near 15:00–15:30 AEST. SA is forecast to reach as low as -$5.15/MWh around 13:30 AEST, with extended sub-zero pricing across the 10:30–16:00 AEST stretch. QLD will see its deepest negative interval at -$25.01/MWh near 13:30 AEST, with sustained sub-zero pricing from roughly 10:30 through 15:30 AEST — an exceptional window for interruptible industrial loads and battery charging. VIC sits consistently at or below -$0.10/MWh from 11:30 AEST onward through much of the overnight period. The 13:30–15:30 AEST window is the single strongest overnight load opportunity NEM-wide: four regions simultaneously in negative or near-zero price territory.
QLD presents the most compelling load-shifting case today. Predispatch shows prices recovering sharply from around 16:00 AEST, with intervals pricing at $24–$48/MWh by 16:00 and spiking back above $36–$48/MWh into the business morning. SA similarly ramps from negative overnight pricing to $25/MWh by 17:00 AEST. NSW prices in the 10:30 AEST–11:00 AEST range reach $22–$26/MWh as demand builds with the start of the working day. TAS remains the weakest load-shift candidate for today: predispatch holds at $74–$80/MWh throughout the horizon with no significant relief, so TAS operators should treat any flexible load as a continuous avoidance exercise rather than a shift opportunity.
**Concrete recommendation:** Schedule all deferrable loads — EV charging fleets, water heating, pumping, chilling, and battery charging — to run between **13:30 and 15:00 AEST** across NSW, VIC, SA, and QLD. This window captures the widest simultaneous price trough NEM-wide, with multiple regions forecast below zero. For QLD industrial users, the interval around **13:30 AEST** specifically shows the network's lowest price of the day at approximately -$25/MWh. Avoid scheduling new loads in any region from **07:00–09:30 AEST** when morning demand ramps prices up across