Load Advisor: Saturday 29 August 2026

NEM-wide load shifting advisory, Sunday 30 August: the deepest and widest overnight trough of the week is opening up right now across the mainland, with NSW, VIC, SA and QLD predispatch prices all sitting negative or near-zero from approximately 10am to 4pm AEST. NSW and VIC prices bottom out around -$9/MWh between 12pm and 3pm AEST, SA troughs near -$8/MWh from 12pm to 4pm AEST, and QLD dips to -$8/MWh between 12pm and 2pm AEST, all driven by strong rooftop and grid-scale solar output on a low-demand Sunday. TAS1 doesn't go negative but holds in the $11-18/MWh range for most of the overnight-to-midday period, still a strong shifting opportunity relative to its evening peak near $100/MWh.

Flexible load should be concentrated in the 12pm-4pm AEST window today across NSW, VIC, SA and QLD, where near-zero or negative pricing delivers savings of $100-140/MWh versus this evening's peak. SA offers the largest single-region saving, with troughs near -$8/MWh translating to roughly $137/MWh saved against its evening peak of $86/MWh. NSW and VIC both show consistent savings above $120/MWh in the same window, while QLD's best opportunity extends slightly later, with a 1.5-hour low-price block from 2:30pm to 4pm AEST saving around $160 cumulative for a 1 MW load.

Peak periods to avoid will land in the late morning to early afternoon ramp and again into the evening. All four mainland regions show forecast prices climbing sharply from around 5pm AEST as solar output fades, with NSW, VIC and SA all forecast to push into the $90-114/MWh range by 6pm-9pm AEST as the evening peak sets in. TAS1's pattern is different, with volatility persisting through the day (spikes to $60/MWh and back to $18/MWh in alternating half-hour blocks overnight) before its own peak builds through the afternoon toward $100/MWh by 11am-12pm AEST.

Recommended action: schedule discretionary and shiftable load — EV charging, pumped hydro fill, industrial process loads, battery charging — for the 12pm-4pm AEST window today across NSW1, VIC1, SA1 and QLD1, with SA1 offering the strongest dollar-per-MWh return. For TAS1, target the 6am-7am AEST and early afternoon shoulder periods where prices sit below $20/MWh, and avoid committing flexible load to TAS1 during the alternating $60/MWh spike periods overnight. Across all regions, avoid scheduling flexible load between 5pm and 9pm AEST, when forecast prices climb into peak territory as solar generation tapers off.