Load Advisor: Sunday 28 June 2026
NEM-wide spot prices are currently elevated across all interconnected regions, with WA1 leading at $96.94/MWh, NSW1 at $79.60/MWh, TAS1 at $70.20/MWh, QLD1 at $69.25/MWh, SA1 at $59.55/MWh, and VIC1 the softest at $51.42/MWh. Total demand sits at 8,603 MW in NSW, 6,623 MW in QLD, 5,805 MW in VIC, 1,514 MW in SA, and 1,263 MW in TAS. Predispatch forecasts show prices will remain firm through the early evening before easing significantly from around 10:00 PM AEST, creating a clear overnight trough that flexible load operators should target.
The strongest load-shifting opportunity NEM-wide sits in Victoria between 11:30 PM and 6:00 AM AEST, where predispatch prices forecast a sustained floor of $10.50–$11.67/MWh — saving up to $74/MWh against peak. This is the deepest trough across all regions and represents an extended four-to-five-hour window with low execution risk. In South Australia, the prime window runs from 11:30 PM through to 2:30 AM AEST at $25–$35/MWh, saving up to $101/MWh versus SA's projected morning peak, which will spike above $100/MWh from 7:30 AM and remain elevated through to 1:00 PM AEST — the longest and sharpest peak period forecast across the NEM today. NSW operators should target 10:00 PM to 4:00 AM AEST at $43–$48/MWh, saving up to $95/MWh ahead of a morning peak that will climb to $138/MWh around 8:00–8:30 AM AEST. In Queensland, the overnight window from 10:30 PM to 4:00 AM AEST at $38–$47/MWh offers savings of up to $93/MWh before prices rise sharply from 6:00 AM, peaking near $133/MWh at 8:30 AM AEST. Tasmania presents a different profile: overnight prices hold at $69–$79/MWh and do not offer significant relief until the afternoon, when forecasts drop to approximately $27/MWh between 2:00 PM and 6:00 PM AEST — saving up to $127/MWh against the region's peak and making the mid-afternoon session Tasmania's standout window.
The universal peak-avoidance message for today is the 7:00–9:00 AM AEST block across NSW, QLD, and SA, where predispatch prices are forecast to reach $130–$138/MWh in NSW, $120–$133/MWh in QLD, and $101–$128/MWh in SA. Any flexible load that can be curtailed or deferred during this window should be. For operators with load spread across multiple regions, the optimal strategy is to front-load consumption into the VIC and SA overnight troughs (11:30 PM–2:30 AM AEST) given the deepest absolute price levels, and schedule NSW and QLD flexible loads to complete before 6:00 AM AEST when