Load Advisor: Wednesday 10 June 2026

Spot prices are elevated across the southern regions at 06:30 AEST, with SA1 at $192.90/MWh, VIC1 at $187.33/MWh, and NSW1 at $176.80/MWh. QLD1 is the standout outlier at $111.11/MWh with demand sitting at 6,692 MW, while WA1 holds the lowest current price at $101.65/MWh. All five NEM regions carry heating demand this morning — TAS1 at 11.9°C heating index with temperatures at 6.1°C, SA1 at 9.7 with 8.3°C — which is supporting elevated winter baseload across the board. Predispatch signals a sharp price spike across NSW1, VIC1, and SA1 between 18:30–19:00 AEST (08:30–09:00 UTC) where forecasts reach $247/MWh (NSW1), $240/MWh (VIC1), and $265/MWh (SA1) — the clear window to shed or avoid all discretionary load.

The strongest savings opportunities for flexible load scheduling are in VIC1 and SA1 through the afternoon. VIC1 prices will collapse from around $76.66/MWh at 00:30 AEST to as low as $8.94/MWh by 04:00 AEST (14:00–18:00 UTC), with a sustained sub-$22/MWh block from 02:00–04:00 AEST representing savings of up to $231/MWh versus current spot. SA1 follows an almost identical trajectory, reaching $8.06/MWh at 04:00 AEST — a $257/MWh saving against the present price — and holding below $20/MWh from 02:00 AEST onward. NSW1 offers a narrower but still material opportunity in the early-morning trough: prices will fall to $86.47/MWh at 14:00 AEST (04:00 UTC) and hold in the $95–98/MWh band from 13:30–18:00 AEST, saving roughly $149–161/MWh versus current levels. TAS1 runs a flatter profile with prices around $87/MWh from 10:30 AEST through the afternoon before easing further to $80.20/MWh from 02:30 AEST — good but not exceptional value relative to other regions.

QLD1 is structurally the cheapest NEM region today with prices forecast to range $67.88–$87.73/MWh across most of the day. The afternoon block from 15:30–18:00 AEST will hold at $67.88/MWh, making it the most stable and predictable low-price window in the NEM, though the absolute savings ceiling is lower than the southern regions given QLD1's already-modest spot price. QLD1 operators should note the morning ramp between 06:00–08:00 AEST where prices will lift to $109–$131/MWh before retreating — avoid scheduling load additions in that window.

**Concrete recommendation:** In VIC1 and SA1, schedule all deferrable flexible loads — industrial process loads, water heating, battery charging, thermal storage — to run between 02: