Low price spring continues
After sharp falls from August to September, electricity prices across the National Electricity Market (NEM) were broadly steady through October. Prices edged down slightly in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania, and rose modestly in Queensland and New South Wales. Despite ongoing generator and transmission outages, strong renewable output and the absence of significant heat meant price volatility remained low.
Negative spot prices were common across the NEM – particularly during solar hours, windy periods and weekends. Prices were negative 26% of the time in New South Wales, 32% in Queensland, 42% in Victoria, and 46% in South Australia. Driven by abundant renewable generation, this prevalence of negative prices saw Tasmania, South Australia and Victoria record the lowest average prices for the month. Tasmania continued to benefit from strong hydro availability and restricted flows to the mainland.
In South Australia, monthly average prices were negative between 9:50am and 4:50pm, providing a clear signal to customers exposed to spot prices (such as those on Flow Power plans) to shift consumption into these low-cost hours. Spring’s combination of lower demand and high renewable output also leads to significant curtailment (spill), making negative prices an important incentive for better utilisation of renewable resources, including battery charging and flexible load shifting.
Renewable records topple
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