Load Advisor: Tuesday 9 June 2026

Victoria and South Australia present the strongest load-shifting opportunity on the NEM today. VIC1 prices are currently near zero at -$0.10/MWh with demand at 5,306 MW, and SA1 sits at -$0.09/MWh with 1,499 MW. Predispatch confirms these conditions will persist and improve through the overnight period: VIC1 will bottom out at $0.01/MWh at 02:30 AEST and hold below $11/MWh until 09:30 AEST, while SA1 will fall to -$0.04/MWh at 07:00 AEST before lifting through 08:00 AEST. These are the deepest trough prices across the entire NEM and represent savings of up to $149/MWh and $198/MWh respectively against reference prices. Flexible consumers in both regions — industrial processes, water treatment, battery charging — should be maximising load now and holding through to approximately 09:00–09:30 AEST.

NSW1 and QLD1 offer a secondary overnight trough. NSW1 prices will fall to $61.01/MWh across the 05:00–07:30 AEST band and hold in the low $60s through to 07:30 AEST, representing a good shifting window before morning ramp. QLD1 prices drop to $54.51/MWh at 06:30 AEST and remain below $68/MWh through to 09:30 AEST, making the 06:00–09:00 AEST window the preferred loading slot for Queensland flexible loads. Avoid QLD1 from 12:00–20:00 AEST, where prices are forecast to sustain above $84/MWh through the business-day peak.

The key avoidance periods are clear-cut. NSW1 and VIC1 both face a sustained morning peak: NSW1 will climb to $136/MWh at 16:00 AEST and hold above $100/MWh from 15:30 AEST through to 18:00 AEST; VIC1 rises steeply to above $120/MWh from 16:00 AEST with a spike to $149/MWh at 18:00 AEST. SA1 faces the sharpest daytime price profile on the NEM today, with prices forecast to reach $198/MWh between 15:30–16:00 AEST and remain above $138/MWh from 12:00 AEST through to 23:00 AEST — defer all shiftable SA load well before 11:30 AEST. TAS1 is the least volatile region today, trading in a narrow $79–$87/MWh band throughout, with no strong trough but also no extreme peaks; modest savings are available from 06:00–09:30 AEST when prices ease to ~$80/MWh, and Tasmania operators should treat the 18:30 AEST spike to $119/MWh as the primary avoidance point.

Concrete recommendation: schedule all deferrable load in VIC1 and SA1 to run from now through 09:00 AEST, capturing sub-$11/MWh windows; load NSW1 and QLD1 flexible capacity between 05:00 and 09