Load Advisor: Wednesday 15 July 2026

NEM-wide load shifting advisory: the overnight-to-early-morning trough (approximately 10:00–16:00 AEST equivalent, i.e. 00:00–06:00 UTC) remains the cheapest window across all five mainland and island regions today, with prices currently sitting well below overnight peak levels already recorded. QLD1 offers the deepest discount, with predispatch prices falling to $7–15/MWh between 10:00 and 14:00 AEST, before easing modestly into the 14:30–16:00 AEST band at $30–34/MWh. NSW1, VIC1, SA1 and TAS1 all show best-value windows in the $65–90/MWh range across the same overnight-to-dawn period, roughly 2-3 hours ahead of QLD1's trough.

The critical avoidance window today is the morning peak, 17:00–22:00 AEST (07:00–12:00 UTC), where VIC1, SA1 and TAS1 forecasts spike sharply. SA1 predispatch shows prices reaching $531/MWh at 22:00 AEST, VIC1 peaking near $503/MWh at 17:30 AEST and again above $455/MWh near 20:00 AEST, and TAS1 following a similar pattern with a $457/MWh spike at 17:30 AEST. These three regions will see sustained volatility through the late morning into early afternoon, with SA1 and TAS1 remaining above $200/MWh for most of the 07:00–14:00 AEST band. NSW1 and QLD1 stay comparatively contained, with NSW1 topping out near $121/MWh and QLD1 easing toward $25–40/MWh through the same period, reflecting stronger local supply cushions in those two regions today.

The standout saving opportunity is SA1, where shifting load from peak into the pre-dawn window secures up to $457/MWh in savings, followed closely by TAS1 ($387/MWh) and VIC1 ($427/MWh) — all three benefit from unusually large peak-to-trough spreads today. QLD1 offers the lowest absolute prices but smaller dollar savings (~$135/MWh) given its flatter overall profile. Recommendation: schedule all deferrable load — EV charging, batch industrial processes, battery charging — into the 00:00–06:00 AEST window nationally, prioritising SA1 and TAS1 for maximum value capture, and ens