Market analysis of 18 December 2025
New South Wales recorded a wholesale electricity price high of AUD 14,000.68/MWh at 18:05 on 18 December 2025 and a low of −AUD 9.17/MWh at 08:30. The arithmetic average across its 288 five-minute observations was AUD 306.23/MWh.
Across the day, 52 observations were below zero, a total of 4.3 hours and 7 observations were at or above AUD 300/MWh, a total of 0.6 hours. The spread between the highest and lowest prices was AUD 14,009.85/MWh.
The Five-Minute Price Curve
The first chart shows each five-minute price for New South Wales through the day, with times in fixed UTC+10. Timing matters for any operator: a battery or flexible load gains from the gap between the cheapest and dearest intervals, while a generator’s result depends on when its energy was delivered.
How The Five Regions Compared
Daily average prices in the other regions were: Victoria AUD 111.50/MWh, South Australia AUD 101.20/MWh, Tasmania AUD 101.11/MWh, Queensland AUD 57.39/MWh. The second chart compares the five regional averages for 18 December 2025.
What The Day Means For Operations
For a battery operator, the question is where charging and discharging belonged within this curve. For a generator or retailer, the same timestamps show which intervals carried the most value or cost. Reviewing the day interval by interval keeps these signals visible where a daily average would hide them.
This analysis uses Network Map’s regional observations dated 18 December 2025. Prices are in Australian dollars per megawatt-hour, times use fixed UTC+10, and daily averages give equal weight to each five-minute observation.
Explore The Data
Markets, Revenue Reconciliation, Battery Revenue Benchmarks.
