The last seven days of detected price spikes, negative pricing intervals, record renewables and binding grid constraints across the NEM and WEM. 10 July 2026 to 17 July 2026.
TAS1 experienced high renewable penetration of 87.2% during the 20:05–20:30 period on 16 July 2026, with hydro and wind generation totalling approximately 1,600–1,800 MW across six dispatch intervals. Regional reference price (RRP) increased steadily from $88.22/MWh to $105.33/MWh over the same period, suggesting tightening market conditions despite abundant renewable supply.
QLD1 experienced sustained negative pricing across two intervals on 16 July 2026, with the minimum price reaching −$1.92/MWh at 05:10. The event occurred during the early morning period with high solar generation (3,491.6 MW combined) and substantial coal-fired output (4,719.74 MW), creating structural oversupply conditions.
QLD1 experienced sustained negative pricing with a minimum of -$3.5/MWh across 2 intervals during the evening of 15 July 2026. Prices declined from $6.81/MWh to -$3.5/MWh over a seven-interval period, indicating a shift towards oversupply conditions.
Tasmania (TAS1) experienced high renewable penetration of 87.2% during the evening of 15 July 2026, driven by substantial hydro generation (1,185–1,262 MW) and wind output (149–158 MW) alongside gas OCGT capacity. Regional spot prices rose sharply from $21.16/MWh to $107.78/MWh over the 35-minute observation window, despite the high renewable contribution.
Tasmania experienced high renewable penetration at 91.8% during the evening of 14 July 2026, with hydro and wind generation combining to supply approximately 4,031 MW across six settlement periods. Regional reference prices (RRP) ranged from $67.52 to $78.25/MWh during this period, with modest volatility despite the elevated renewable contribution.
VIC1 experienced sustained negative pricing during early morning hours on 14 July 2026, with the region reaching −$12.75/MWh across two intervals. The negative pricing persisted across a six-interval window from 04:35 to 05:05, indicating a period of structural oversupply in the Victorian market.
TAS1 experienced sustained negative pricing with two intervals settling at approximately -$0.79/MWh and -$0.47/MWh during the early morning period of 14 July 2026. This followed a sharp price spike to $87.24/MWh in the preceding interval, creating volatile pricing conditions.
NSW1 experienced sustained negative pricing over two consecutive intervals (03:15 and 03:20 on 14 July 2026), with prices reaching −$1.26/MWh. The negative prices followed a sharp price decline from $10.94/MWh to $0.01/MWh across four intervals, suggesting a rapid shift in supply–demand balance during early morning hours.
QLD1 experienced sustained negative pricing at $-1.18/MWh during two consecutive intervals (03:15–03:20 on 14 July 2026), following a sharp price decline from $10.08/MWh earlier in the period. The region's generation mix was dominated by solar (approximately 2,443 MW) and black coal (3,271 MW), with minimal demand flexibility from flexible generation sources.
Tasmania experienced a major constraint binding event with marginal value of $8.352 million on constraint T_BLINK_TV_NGZ during the early morning period of 14 July 2026. Regional energy prices escalated from $0.16/MWh to a peak of $3.97/MWh across the five-minute settlement intervals, indicating significant scarcity pricing driven by the binding constraint.
SA1 experienced sustained negative pricing at −$1/MWh for one interval (01:50) with an adjacent interval at −$0.02/MWh, representing minor but notable price suppression. The region's generation mix was dominated by renewable output, particularly wind generation at 784 MW and solar at 208 MW, with minimal gas-fired generation.
VIC1 experienced sustained negative pricing at −$1.10/MWh for two consecutive 5-minute intervals (23:10–23:15 on 13 July 2026), representing a minor severity event. Prices had declined sharply from $22.67/MWh earlier in the evening, settling into negative territory during the late evening period.
Tasmania experienced high renewable penetration of 91.7% during the evening period of 13 July 2026, driven by combined hydro and wind generation totalling approximately 1,376–1,846 MW. Regional reference prices remained at or near the market floor of $0.09/MWh for four consecutive intervals before rising marginally to $0.12/MWh, reflecting abundant renewable supply.
South Australia (SA1) experienced sustained negative pricing reaching -$4.78/MWh across 2 intervals during the 18:40–18:45 settlement period on 13 July 2026. Prices had been slightly negative in the preceding intervals (-$1.07 to -$1.10/MWh) before deepening sharply. The generation mix was dominated by wind output at 1,490.75 MW with minimal demand absorption from batteries, contributing to surplus supply conditions.
TAS1 experienced sustained negative pricing at $-4.06/MWh across two consecutive intervals (18:40 and 18:45) on 13 July 2026, representing a minor severity event. Prices recovered slightly to $-4.04/MWh in the following interval before the negative pricing episode concluded.
VIC1 experienced sustained negative pricing at −$1.10/MWh across two consecutive intervals (15:15 and 15:20 on 13 July 2026), with prices remaining negative or near-zero throughout the broader period. The negative pricing occurred during a period of high wind generation (approximately 6,356 MW combined) and brown coal output (3,313 MW), indicating structural oversupply in the region.
South Australia (SA1) experienced high renewable penetration of 97.1% during the 14:05–14:30 period on 13 July 2026, driven predominantly by wind generation of 1,437.57 MW. Negative spot prices of approximately −$1.11/MWh were recorded across multiple settlement periods, indicating oversupply conditions typical of high renewable generation intervals.
TAS1 experienced brief negative pricing for 2 consecutive intervals (12:55–13:00 on 13 July 2026), with prices reaching −$0.25/MWh. The event occurred during a period of high renewable generation (hydro and wind combined exceeded 2,000 MW) with minimal conventional capacity online.
South Australia (SA1) experienced sustained negative pricing at −$1/MWh for two consecutive 5-minute intervals (12:55–13:00 on 13 July 2026), following a sharp price decline from $0.43/MWh. The region's generation mix was dominated by wind (1527.45 MW) and battery output (46.67 MW), with minimal thermal generation, indicating high renewable penetration during this period.
VIC1 experienced sustained negative pricing with a floor of −$181.24/MWh across two intervals on 13 July 2026, occurring within a broader pattern of extreme price volatility spanning from −$211.92/MWh to +$191.55/MWh. The negative prices coincided with high wind generation (3031–3223 MW) and substantial brown coal output (4310 MW), creating an oversupply scenario.
A binding constraint V_T_NIL_BL1 in VIC1 reached a moderate shadow price of $281.17/MWh during the early morning period of 13 July 2026, coinciding with volatile regional reference prices that ranged from -$717.97 to +$238.88/MWh. The constraint binding alongside several other transmission-related constraints suggests network congestion management was actively constraining the market during this period.
Tasmania experienced an extreme price spike reaching $23,200/MWh in the 06:20 interval on 13 July 2026, followed by a sharp correction to $300.10 in the subsequent interval. This represents a dramatic departure from the preceding baseline of $20–105/MWh and occurred despite adequate generation capacity across hydro, wind and gas sources totalling approximately 3.2 GW.
A major binding constraint (T_BLINK_TV_NGZ) with an exceptionally high marginal value of $8.352 million occurred in TAS1 during the early morning period of 13 July 2026, causing significant price volatility with RRPs ranging from $0.10 to $105.48/MWh across consecutive five-minute intervals. The constraint binding at such an extreme shadow price indicates a severe limitation in available transfer capacity or operational headroom during this period.
NSW1 experienced sustained negative pricing on 13 July 2026, with the RRP falling to −$5.58/MWh during the 05:20 interval. This occurred during early morning periods when solar generation (2,138.87 MW) and wind generation (1,448.97 MW) combined with battery discharge (500.7 MW) created significant excess supply, while black coal generation (3,458.24 MW) remained inflexible.
SA1 experienced sustained negative pricing with the minimum price reaching -$101.02/MWh during the 05:15 interval on 13 July 2026, persisting across 2 consecutive intervals. The region's generation was dominated by renewable sources, comprising approximately 1,322 MW of wind and 342 MW of solar output, alongside minimal conventional generation.
QLD1 experienced minor negative pricing during early morning hours on 13 July 2026, with two intervals settling at negative prices (minimum -$1.49/MWh). The region's generation mix was dominated by solar and black coal, totalling over 11.5 GW, whilst demand was relatively low during the pre-dawn period.
A binding constraint (F_T+NIL_MRWF_TG_R6) with a shadow price of $381.55/MWh emerged as a significant constraint in the NEM, indicating substantial economic scarcity at a specific network location. This constraint ranked third among active binding constraints in terms of marginal value, suggesting localised transmission or generation limitations were materially affecting dispatch and pricing.
VIC1 experienced sustained negative pricing with a minimum of -$30.68/MWh across 2 intervals on 13 July 2026, including an extreme price of -$757.07/MWh in the 00:15 settlement. The event occurred during a period of high renewable generation, with wind contributing over 6,800 MW combined and solar adding 531 MW to the generation mix.
A binding constraint (T_BLINK_TV_NGZ) in TAS1 reached an exceptionally high shadow price of $8.352 million during the evening dispatch period of 12 July 2026. The constraint became active as Tasmania's generation mix remained dominated by hydro and wind sources (approximately 1000–1050 MW hydro and 500–510 MW wind), with zero gas-fired generation available.
South Australia (SA1) experienced sustained negative pricing at approximately −$7/MWh across multiple intervals on 12 July 2026, evening peak. The region had substantial renewable generation, particularly wind at 1,215 MW, combined with solar output of 128 MW and minimal gas generation, creating a supply surplus difficult to manage within network constraints.
Events are detected automatically by gridIQ from AEMO dispatch and constraint data, then enriched with AI-generated causal analysis. For the full searchable archive, see the event history. For deeper context on price spikes and negative pricing, read the negative-price explainer or browse live electricity prices by region.