Load Advisor: Wednesday 26 August 2026
**NEM-wide load shifting advisory — Thursday 27 August 2026**
The overnight-to-dawn window from 00:00 to 07:00 AEST is the standout load-shifting opportunity across all five mainland and island regions today, with predispatch forecasts showing prices collapsing to single digits and low teens $/MWh in every region. QLD1 offers the deepest trough, with forecast RRP as low as $0.73/MWh between 02:30 and 03:30 AEST, while VIC1 and SA1 both post sub-$10/MWh prices through 04:00–06:00 AEST. NSW1 and TAS1 trade slightly higher through this period (typically $10-25/MWh) but still represent savings of $200+/MWh versus current evening peak pricing, which sits at $230-300/MWh across NSW1, VIC1, QLD1 and SA1 as of 20:30 AEST last night.
Prices will lift sharply from around 07:00 AEST as morning demand ramps, with NSW1 and VIC1 forecasts climbing through $100-200/MWh by 08:30-09:00 AEST and pushing toward $200/MWh again around midday (12:00-12:30 AEST) in NSW1, VIC1 and SA1 — a secondary peak driven by limited rooftop solar offset given today's cloud cover (NSW1 41% cloud, VIC1 61%, TAS1 71%). A further elevated band persists through the afternoon into early evening, with all regions holding $80-130/MWh from 13:00 through 18:00 AEST. Flexible load scheduled into either the midday or early-evening windows will forgo the bulk of today's savings potential.
SA1 and QLD1 present the strongest absolute savings opportunities, both capable of shedding over $240/MWh (SA1) and $200/MWh (QLD1) versus peak by shifting load into the 02:00-06:00 AEST band. VIC1 shows the most consistent low-price floor, holding below $15/MWh for a full five-hour stretch from 02:00 to 07:00 AEST. TAS1 and NSW1 offer slightly smaller but still substantial savings (~$215-220/MWh) across similar hours.
Recommendation: schedule all deferrable load — EV charging, water heating, industrial process loads, battery charging — into the 00:00-06:30 AEST window today, with priority given to 02:00-05:00 AEST where pricing is lowest and most stable across all regions simultaneously. Avoid dispatch during 08:00-13:00 AEST and again 15:00-18:00 AEST, when regional prices converge on $80-200/MWh. Given cloud cover is elevated nationwide today (NSW1, VIC1, TAS1 all above 40%), don't expect a strong midday solar-driven price dip to offset the morning peak — the overnight window remains the primary opportunity.