Interconnector Watch: Tuesday 18 August 2026
**Interconnector snapshot, 19 August 2026 (07:00 AEST reference interval):**
Four of six interconnectors are binding at their limits right now, reflecting a heavily constrained network. VIC1-NSW1 is exporting 804 MW from Victoria into NSW, sitting at its export limit of 804 MW — fully utilised. This flow is arbitraging the $11.64/MWh VIC price against $64.05/MWh in NSW, with Victorian generation filling the gap left by NSW's tighter supply-demand balance. Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is also binding, importing 386.6 MW from Tasmania into Victoria at its full import limit, consistent with TAS at $20.28/MWh sitting well below VIC. AEMO's market notice confirms Basslink hit a technical limitation, with constraint set I-VT_000 invoked from 0700 hrs 18 August, capping transfer capability.
On the South Australian side, both interconnectors linking to Victoria are maxed out. Heywood (V-SA) is exporting 239.2 MW from VIC into SA, exactly at its limit, while Murraylink (V-S-MNSP1) is separately exporting 86.7 MW from VIC into SA, also at full capacity. Combined transfer of 326 MW from VIC to SA is consistent with SA's negative price of -$4.24/MWh — the region is likely oversupplied from wind/solar and relying on constrained import capacity to avoid deeper negative pricing, while VIC's low price reflects it exporting to three regions simultaneously (NSW, SA via Heywood, SA via Murraylink). AEMO notices flag that Murraylink control functions have been unavailable since 14 August (constraint I-CTRL_ISSUE_ML), meaning this flow is currently fixed rather than dynamically optimised.
The Queensland-NSW corridor is comparatively unconstrained. QNI (NSW1-QLD1) is flowing 481 MW from QLD into NSW, well inside its 830 MW export/942 MW import envelope and not binding. Directlink (N-Q-MNSP1) shows a modest 17 MW flow from QLD to NSW, also non-binding, though a live notice confirms its control system has been unavailable since 14 August (I-CTRL_ISSUE_TE), limiting dispatch flexibility even though the flow itself isn't limit-bound. QLD at $59.90/MWh and NSW at $64.05/MWh remain closely aligned, indicating adequate transfer headroom is keeping this spread narrow despite multiple outstanding network constraints on Woolooga-Teebar Creek, Bayswater-Sydney West, and Tarong switching equipment that have periodically tightened QNI limits over the past fortnight. WA1, not connected to the NEM, sits separately at $133.34/MWh.