Load Advisor: Saturday 25 July 2026
# NEM Load Shifting Advisory — Sunday 26 July 2026
QLD1 offers the deepest shifting opportunity on the grid this morning, with predispatch prices running negative from 10:00-16:00 AEST (-$5 to -$0.01/MWh) as low overnight demand meets minimal generation cost pressure. Flexible loads in Queensland scheduled into the 12:00-16:00 AEST window (10:00-14:00 UTC target times) will not just avoid cost — they'll be paid to consume. VIC1 mirrors this pattern with a sustained low-price band of $10.50-$12.65/MWh from roughly 07:00-15:30 AEST, among the cheapest sustained windows nationally.
Across all five mainland regions, the overnight-to-midday trough is the priority shifting window. NSW1 holds steady at $42.80/MWh from 10:30 AEST through to 15:30 AEST, a $92/MWh saving versus evening peak. SA1 shows a bifurcated pattern — a good trough of $49/MWh around 12:00-13:00 AEST, but prices climb sharply to $130-160/MWh between 18:00 and 20:30 AEST as low wind potential (0.2-0.8) and 100% cloud cover suppress renewable output. TAS1 sits in a moderate $24-29/MWh band from 11:00 AEST through 15:30 AEST, a reliable if less dramatic saving of ~$103-108/MWh versus peak.
Peak periods to avoid across all regions cluster in two bands: the morning ramp (16:30-20:30 AEST) as demand builds and solar output fades under heavy cloud cover in VIC1, SA1, and TAS1, and again into the evening (19:30-22:30 AEST) when NSW1, VIC1, and SA1 all forecast prices above $110/MWh, with SA1 peaking near $160/MWh at 20:00 AEST and VIC1 near $145/MWh at 20:00 AEST. WA1's current price of $134.82/MWh at 06:25 AEST also points to tight conditions in that region this morning; operators there should avoid discretionary load until clearer data emerges.
Recommendation: schedule all shiftable NEM-wide load — EV charging, industrial process loads, pumped hydro fill, battery charging — into the 11:00-15:30 AEST window today