Interconnector Watch: Monday 7 September 2026
Interconnector flows across the NEM sit well within limits this morning, with no active binding constraints across any of the six interconnectors as at 06:30 AEST. All flows are trading comfortably inside their respective import/export envelopes, indicating no transfer capacity is currently restricting price convergence between regions.
Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is exporting 399 MW from TAS1 to VIC1, sitting at around 84% of its 473 MW export limit — the tightest utilisation on the network today, though still non-binding. This flow is consistent with the modest TAS1-VIC1 price gap ($73.10 vs $81.06), with Tasmanian generation pushing north into Victoria. VIC-NSW (VIC1-NSW1) is also flowing solidly north at 297 MW toward NSW1, well under its 915 MW export limit, helping narrow the spread between VIC1 ($81.06) and NSW1 ($85.86). Heywood (V-SA) is flowing 340 MW from SA1 into VIC1 (i.e. VIC1 importing from SA1 direction reversed on the negative sign convention), around 69% of its 494 MW import limit, aligning with SA1 holding the lowest mainland price at $73.52. Murraylink (V-S-MNSP1) shows a smaller 27 MW flow, well short of its limit.
On the northern end, QNI (NSW1-QLD1) is flowing 184 MW from QLD1 into NSW1, only 18% of its 998 MW import limit, with QLD1 ($84.73) and NSW1 ($85.86) prices closely aligned — reflecting ample spare capacity and minimal price tension on this path. Directlink (N-Q-MNSP1) shows a marginal 9 MW flow from QLD1 to NSW1, negligible against its limits.
No new binding constraint sets are active today. The most recent inter-regional transfer notices — the Keith-Kincraig 132kV outage affecting the S-KHKN set on V-SA, and the Sydney West-Vineyard No.29 330kV outage affecting QNI, VIC-NSW and Directlink — were both issued 4 September and remain flagged active, but current flow data shows no evidence these are currently limiting transfer capability, with all interconnectors operating well clear of their adjusted limits. Regional price spreads today (a $12.76 range between SA1 low and NSW1 high) reflect normal generation mix and demand differences rather than transmission bottlenecks, with WA1 sitting isolated at $78.34 as the non-interconnected outlier.