Interconnector Watch: Wednesday 9 September 2026
NEM interconnector flows are all sitting comfortably within their limits this morning, with no constraints currently binding. Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is the standout for utilisation, exporting 371 MW from TAS1 to VIC1 against a 473 MW export limit — that's 78% of capacity — consistent with TAS1's low $94.72/MWh drawing flow north into VIC1 at $104.30/MWh. VIC-NSW is also running hard, with 722 MW flowing from VIC1 to NSW1 against a 1,007 MW export limit (72% utilised), reflecting VIC1's discount to NSW1's $119.02/MWh, the highest regional price in the NEM this morning.
QNI (NSW1-QLD1) is flowing 889 MW from QLD1 into NSW1, using 86% of the 1,029 MW import limit on that direction — a solid transfer supporting NSW1 demand from cheaper QLD1 generation at $102.74/MWh, though the two-way price differential here is modest given QLD1 and NSW1 sit within about $16/MWh of each other. Directlink is contributing a further 41 MW NSW1-to-QLD1, a minor flow well within its 115 MW limit. On the Victoria-South Australia corridor, Heywood is exporting 276 MW from VIC1 to SA1 (45% of the 617 MW import limit), while Murraylink carries a modest 18 MW in the same direction — both consistent with SA1's price sitting mid-pack at $96.60/MWh, closer to VIC1 than to NSW1.
No constraint equations are currently binding across any interconnector, and none of the active AEMO notices reference live transfer limitations affecting today's trade — the TAS1 and VIC1 lightning-related contingency reclassifications from 4-5 September have all since been cancelled and reverted to non-credible status. The one live network notice is the unplanned outage of the Keith-Kincraig 132kV line in SA1 from 4 September, which invoked the S-KHKN constraint set on V-SA; despite this, Heywood is trading well under its import limit, so it isn't currently a binding factor. With southern flows dominant — Tasmania into Victoria, Victoria into both NSW and South Australia — price spreads across the mainland today are being kept relatively tight, with NSW1 the pricing outlier at a roughly $15-24/MWh premium to the other regions, while WA1, isolated as always, sits lowest at $77.54/MWh.