Load Advisor: Monday 24 August 2026
SA1 offers the standout load-shifting opportunity this morning, with predispatch prices sitting at negative $1 to negative $6/MWh across the 12:00-16:00 AEST window (03:00-06:00 UTC), driven by strong wind generation (9 MW current, rising to 13.2 MW average) combined with low overnight demand. This window delivers savings of up to $201/MWh versus SA1's evening peak. QLD1 follows closely, with prices falling to $3.53-$21/MWh between 10:00-13:30 AEST (00:00-03:30 UTC), a savings window of roughly $94-111/MWh versus peak.
NSW1, VIC1 and TAS1 show a shared low-price band overnight into early morning, roughly 09:00-16:00 AEST (23:00-06:00 UTC), with prices ranging $60-80/MWh. VIC1's savings are most pronounced in this band given its sharp evening peak: forecast prices spike to $211/MWh between 08:30-09:00 AEST tonight before easing, so shifting VIC1 load into the 11:30 AEST-15:30 AEST window (01:30-05:30 UTC) captures $132-147/MWh in savings. NSW1 and TAS1 show smaller but consistent savings of $34-58/MWh across similar overnight hours.
All regions should avoid scheduling flexible load during the 17:30-20:00 AEST evening peak, where forecast prices climb sharply: VIC1 to $211/MWh, SA1 to $195/MWh, and NSW1, QLD1 and TAS1 into the $85-100/MWh range. A secondary peak reappears mid-morning (17:30-19:00 AEST, or 07:30-09:00 UTC) as forecast demand rebuilds, with NSW1 reaching $119/MWh and QLD1 $114/MWh — flexible loads should be completed before this window opens.
For coordinated NEM-wide scheduling, the optimal shift window is 00:00-06:00 AEST (14:00-20:00 UTC prior day) extending through to 07:00 AEST, capturing the overlap of low overnight demand and elevated wind output in SA1 and VIC1. Traders and grid engineers managing multi-region flexible load (EV charging, batteries, industrial process shifting) should prioritise SA1 dispatch first given its negative pricing, then sequence QLD1, VIC1, NSW1 and TAS1 loads through the shared low-price band, ensuring all shiftable demand is curtailed well ahead of the 17:30 AEST evening peak ramp.