The NEM delivered a week of notable contrasts across the 23–30 March period, with the early part of the week characterised by elevated average prices and sharp intraday volatility before conditions softened markedly through the back half. South Australia was the headline story early on, recording a daily average of $131/MWh on 24 March — the highest regional average of the week — with an intraday peak reaching $1,001/MWh. By contrast, the final days of the week saw SA average prices collapse to as low as -$17/MWh on 27 March, illustrating the region's pronounced sensitivity to shifting wind generation and demand levels.
Tasmania remained the most consistently priced region throughout the week, with daily averages holding in a tight band between $87/MWh and $98/MWh. The island state's hydro-dominated fleet provided a stable generation base, and 100% renewable penetration was recorded during early-morning windows across multiple days — from 25 March through to 30 March. The binding constraint T_BLINK_TV_NGZ was active on multiple occasions, attracting a shadow price of $7,308,000, signalling persistent network limitation on the Tasmanian grid.
Victoria and Queensland trended lower across the week, with VIC1 averaging just $2/MWh on 27 March and QLD1 printing a weekly low average of $33/MWh on 28 March. Negative pricing intervals appeared in most NEM regions on most days, reflecting periods where generation supply outpaced operational demand — a pattern consistent with the shoulder season transitioning into autumn. Western Australia operated largely independently of these dynamics, finishing the week on a firmer note with averages of $97–$106/MWh across the final three days.
Negative pricing was widespread and persistent across the week. SA1 recorded the deepest negative interval floor at -$190/MWh, observed on 26
Get the weekly digest delivered to your inbox every Tuesday morning.
Subscribe