Interconnector Watch: Monday 8 June 2026

VIC1-NSW1 (Murraylink) is the standout story this interval. The interconnector is exporting 1,039 MW from Victoria into New South Wales — sitting exactly at its export limit of 1,039 MW and binding. This ceiling is directly underpinning the $89/MWh price spread between the two regions: Victoria prices at $7.93/MWh while NSW sits at $97/MWh. Were the constraint not binding, additional Victorian generation would arbitrage into NSW and compress that spread. Traders holding settlement residue positions on this link are capturing maximum value right now, though it is worth noting AEMO invoked a negative residue constraint (NRM_VIC1_NSW1) on 1 June and subsequently cancelled it on the same evening — a signal that this corridor has been generating negative residues under high-flow conditions in recent days.

Murraylink (V-S-MNSP1) is also binding, locked at both its import and export limits of -115.5 MW, flowing from South Australia into Victoria. With SA priced at $6.99/MWh and Victoria at $7.93/MWh, the price differential is thin — the binding condition here likely reflects the MNSP's operational scheduling rather than a strong price arbitrage signal. Heywood (V-SA) is flowing 365.82 MW from SA into Victoria and is not binding against its import limit of -634.8 MW, leaving roughly 269 MW of headroom on that direction. Notably, AEMO raised the Heywood SA-to-VIC test limit to 600 MW on 2 June as part of Project EnergyConnect Stage 1 capacity release testing, so the current import limit reflects that revised test envelope.

Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is carrying 207.49 MW from Tasmania into Victoria and is not binding — the export limit is -167.47 MW and the import limit is -389.96 MW, with current flow sitting between those bounds. Tasmania is priced at $87.22/MWh versus Victoria's $7.93/MWh, which presents an unusual inversion: Tasmanian generators are exporting despite receiving a significantly higher local price. This warrants close attention — the flow direction and magnitude suggest scheduled commitments or hydro dispatch decisions are overriding spot price incentives this interval.

QNI (NSW1-QLD1) is near-flat at -3.41 MW, flowing marginally from Queensland into NSW, with both regions pricing within $3/MWh of each other ($99.96/MWh QLD, $97/MWh NSW). The interconnector has substantial headroom in both directions and is not binding. N-Q-MNSP1 (Directlink) is carrying a nominal 9 MW northbound and is also unconstrained. The lightning-related reclassification of the Armidale–Dumaresq and Armidale–Sapphire 330kV lines, which had invoked constraints on both QNI and Directlink, was cancelled on 2 June — those corridors are currently operating without the associated N-2 contingency constraint set active.