Load Advisor: Monday 6 July 2026
Current NEM-wide prices sit at $105-117/MWh across mainland regions as of the 06:25 AEST snapshot, with demand still elevated (NSW1 8,922 MW, VIC1 6,931 MW) heading into the tail of the morning peak. Predispatch forecasts show all five regions easing into a low-price overnight window between roughly 10:00 and 16:00 AEST (i.e. the 00:00-06:00 UTC block covered in the forecast set), before climbing sharply into a pronounced morning peak from 19:00-20:30 AEST (09:00-10:30 UTC), where NSW1 tops $170/MWh, VIC1 reaches $165/MWh, and SA1 peaks near $152/MWh.
QLD1 offers the standout shifting opportunity today, with forecast prices collapsing to $6.73-$39/MWh between 11:30 AEST and 16:00 AEST (01:30-06:00 UTC), driven by strong rooftop and grid solar potential (14.2% avg solar potential forecast for today) and light wind. Note the two lowest QLD1 troughs ($19.29/MWh at 11:30 AEST and $23.37/MWh at 15:00 AEST) carry medium-to-high risk flags — schedule around the lower-risk $39/MWh window at 10:30 AEST or the $41.56/MWh window at 14:00 AEST if certainty matters more than absolute least-cost. NSW1 and VIC1 both bottom out in the $70-90/MWh range between 10:00 AEST and 16:00 AEST, with NSW1's cheapest slot at $69.99/MWh (10:00-11:00 AEST) and VIC1's best window at $81.87/MWh (15:00-16:00 AEST). SA1 and TAS1 trade in a tighter $75-90/MWh band across the same period, offering smaller but still material savings versus their respective peaks.
Peak periods to avoid fall consistently between 19:00 and 20:30 AEST across NSW1, VIC1, SA1 and QLD1, coinciding with the evening demand ramp and reduced solar output as the sun sets over the eastern seaboard. VIC1 shows the sharpest peak-to-trough spread today, with forecast prices swinging from $82/MWh to $191/MWh across the day — the largest arbitrage opportunity of any region. T