Load Advisor: Thursday 11 June 2026
NEM-wide spot prices are currently split, with NSW1 at $80/MWh, QLD1 at $74.84/MWh, and TAS1 at $78/MWh carrying meaningful cost exposure for any load running right now. VIC1 and SA1 are already at $0/MWh in the current interval, and both regions will move into sustained negative pricing from 09:00 AEST onwards tonight, with VIC1 forecast to reach -$12.73/MWh by 04:00 AEST this afternoon and SA1 hitting -$12.30/MWh at the same time. These negative price windows extend across the full afternoon into early evening in both regions, making VIC1 and SA1 the strongest load-shifting destinations on the NEM today by a considerable margin.
NSW1 and QLD1 flexible load operators should target the overnight trough between 01:30–06:30 AEST, where NSW1 prices are forecast to drop as low as $23.96/MWh at 02:30 AEST and QLD1 reaches $23.44/MWh at the same time. Both regions will see a sharp morning ramp from around 07:30 AEST, with NSW1 forecast at $88–$105/MWh from 08:00–10:30 AEST and QLD1 climbing above $85–$98/MWh across the same window. Any deferrable load in these regions must be cleared before 07:30 AEST or held until after 14:30 AEST when prices soften back toward $60–$67/MWh. TAS1 offers the narrowest savings opportunity today — prices sit in a tight $65–$72/MWh band throughout, with the best relative relief coming in the 04:30–05:30 AEST window at around $65/MWh, though absolute savings remain modest at roughly $22/MWh against the daily reference price.
The concrete scheduling recommendation for today: VIC1 and SA1 operators should run all flexible load — industrial process heat, water heating, battery charging, irrigation pumping — continuously from now through to at least 04:00 AEST this afternoon, capturing negative prices across the entire window. NSW1 and QLD1 operators should schedule the bulk of deferrable load into the 01:30–06:30 AEST overnight band, with the 02:30 AEST half-hour the single best interval in both regions. Avoid all discretionary consumption between 07:30–10:30 AEST in NSW1 and QLD1, where morning peak pricing will be 60–75% above the overnight trough. TAS1 operators face a relatively flat price profile and should use the 04:30–06:00 AEST window if load flexibility is available, but the arbitrage case is weak compared to the mainland.