Interconnector Watch: Monday 14 September 2026
VIC-NSW (VIC1-NSW1) is the standout this morning: flow sits at 823 MW from Victoria into NSW, effectively pinned against its 824 MW export limit — this interconnector is binding and running at 99.9% of capacity. That flow direction lines up with the price spread: NSW sits at $82.84/MWh versus Victoria's $71.02/MWh, so Victorian generation is being pulled north to help meet NSW demand (7,396 MW) wherever thermal capacity allows. With VIC-NSW essentially maxed out, NSW is likely relying more heavily on QNI imports from Queensland to fill any remaining gap.
QNI (NSW1-QLD1) is flowing 385 MW from Queensland into NSW, well inside its 1,164 MW import limit — plenty of headroom here, sitting around 33% utilisation. Queensland's price at $78.54/MWh is a touch below NSW, consistent with power flowing down the price gradient. Directlink (N-Q-MNSP1), the smaller NSW-QLD link, shows a modest 17 MW flow into Queensland, a minor counter-flow against QNI and nowhere near either limit.
On the southern links, Basslink (T-V-MNSP1) is exporting 146.8 MW from Tasmania to Victoria, and this flow is pinned exactly at its import limit of 146.8 MW — worth flagging given the active market notice: Basslink has a control issue (constraint set I-CTRL_ISSUE_BL, invoked since 07:35 on 11 September and still in force), limiting AEMO's ability to adjust target flow. Tasmania's price ($68.31/MWh) is the lowest in the NEM, supporting continued northward export into Victoria's $71.02/MWh, but traders should watch for any further restriction given the unresolved control fault. Heywood (V-SA) and Murraylink (V-S-MNSP1) show light flows — 74 MW and 9 MW respectively, both well inside limits — with South Australia's price at $69.18/MWh near the bottom of the stack despite modest import from Victoria.
No negative settlement residue constraints are currently active on VIC-SA or NSW-VIC — both NRM_VIC1_SA1 and NRM_NSW1_VIC1 constraint sets were cancelled on 10 and 12 September respectively, so residue management isn't distorting flows on those paths today. The main constraint to watch remains the Basslink control fault: with flow already sitting at the import limit, any deterioration could tighten Tasmania-Victoria arbitrage and put upward pressure on Tasmanian prices if export capacity is curtailed further.