Current prices in the ten frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) markets of the NEM, in dollars per megawatt per hour, updated every 5 minutes from AEMO data.
FCAS prices now, $/MW/h
Data: Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), NEMWeb dispatch reports, used under AEMO's Copyright Permissions. Processed by ElectraGlobe. Prices are 5-minute dispatch prices in NEM time and may be revised. Informational only. Not for trading or financial decisions.
Raise regulation price, last 24 hours
- QLD
- NSW
- VIC
- SA
- TAS
Hover or tap the chart to read the prices at that time.
Raise regulation, monthly average price
Download CSV, all ten markets| Month | QLD | NSW | VIC | SA | TAS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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What FCAS is
Frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) keep the power system's frequency close to 50 hertz. Frequency drifts whenever supply and demand fall out of balance, and it moves sharply when a large generator or load trips. AEMO keeps it inside the normal operating band of 49.85 to 50.15 Hz by paying generators, batteries and flexible loads to stand ready to change their output within seconds or minutes.
FCAS is bought in its own markets, alongside energy. Every 5 minutes AEMO's dispatch engine works out the energy schedule and the FCAS enablement together, so that the combined cost is as low as possible. That is why a battery can be dispatched to discharge energy and also be enabled for raise FCAS in the same interval, within the limits of its capability.
The ten FCAS markets
There are two families of service. Regulation FCAS corrects the small, continuous mismatches in normal operation. Enabled units follow control signals from AEMO's automatic generation control system, sent every few seconds. Contingency FCAS is held in reserve for a large, sudden event, such as the trip of the largest generator or a transmission line, and responds automatically to the frequency itself.
Each family has a raise service, for when frequency falls and more supply or less demand is needed, and a lower service, for when frequency rises. Contingency services are split by speed of response. Since the 1-second markets started on 9 October 2023 there have been ten markets in all.
| Market | Family | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Raise regulation | Regulation | Adds output continuously to correct small falls in frequency |
| Lower regulation | Regulation | Reduces output continuously to correct small rises in frequency |
| Raise 1 second | Contingency | Very fast response to arrest a sudden fall in frequency |
| Raise 6 second | Contingency | Fast response that arrests the fall within 6 seconds |
| Raise 60 second | Contingency | Slow response that stabilises frequency within 60 seconds |
| Raise 5 minute | Contingency | Delayed response that restores frequency to the normal band |
| Lower 1 second | Contingency | Very fast response to arrest a sudden rise in frequency |
| Lower 6 second | Contingency | Fast response that arrests the rise within 6 seconds |
| Lower 60 second | Contingency | Slow response that stabilises frequency within 60 seconds |
| Lower 5 minute | Contingency | Delayed response that restores frequency to the normal band |
How FCAS prices work
Providers offer capacity into each market in price bands, much as generators offer energy. The price in a market is set by the cost of the last megawatt of that service needed to meet AEMO's requirement, taking account of what that megawatt would otherwise have earned in energy. A provider is paid for capacity it is enabled to hold, whether or not it is called on.
FCAS prices are quoted in dollars per megawatt per hour of enabled capacity. A unit enabled for 50 MW of raise regulation at $10/MW/h earns 50 × 10 × 5/60, about $42, for one 5-minute interval. Most of the time most markets clear at a few cents or a few dollars. Prices jump when supply of a service is short, for example during network outages, when a region is at risk of separating from the rest of the NEM, or when AEMO raises its requirements.
Why the regions have different FCAS prices
Most FCAS requirements are set for the whole mainland, so QLD, NSW, VIC and SA usually show the same price in a market. They part ways when AEMO sets a local requirement: if a region could be cut off by the loss of an interconnector, it must source enough FCAS inside its own borders to survive on its own. South Australia often faces such requirements during planned outages of the Heywood interconnector. Tasmania is joined to the mainland only by Basslink, a direct current link, so its FCAS prices are frequently different from the mainland's.
Who pays for FCAS
The cost is recovered from market participants rather than paid directly by AEMO. Since 8 June 2025 the cost of regulation FCAS has been allocated through frequency performance payments, which reward units that help frequency and charge those that make it worse. Contingency raise costs are recovered mainly from generators and contingency lower costs mainly from customers. Separately, most large generators must provide a narrow-band primary frequency response under the mandatory rule introduced in 2020.
FCAS and batteries
Batteries can change output in milliseconds, which suits the fast contingency markets and regulation better than almost any other plant. Through the early 2020s FCAS was the largest revenue stream for many grid-scale batteries. As more batteries entered, prices in most FCAS markets fell, and energy arbitrage now carries more of a typical battery business case. The monthly table above shows how each market has moved. For the revenue side in more depth, see how battery energy storage systems make money in Australia.
Related guides
- Live NEM spot prices for energy prices in all five regions
- Negative price hours for how often prices go below zero
- BESS revenue calculator for what arbitrage and FCAS would have earned a battery
- Monthly market reports with FCAS averages for each month
- The National Electricity Market explained
- NEM glossary for the terms used on these pages
Frequently asked questions
What does FCAS stand for?
Frequency control ancillary services. They are the services AEMO buys to keep the frequency of the National Electricity Market close to 50 hertz, in ten separate markets for raising and lowering output at different speeds.
What units are FCAS prices in?
Dollars per megawatt per hour of enabled capacity ($/MW/h). A provider is paid for the capacity it is enabled to hold ready for each 5-minute interval, whether or not it is actually called on.
What is the difference between regulation and contingency FCAS?
Regulation FCAS corrects small, continuous frequency deviations in normal operation by following AEMO control signals. Contingency FCAS is held in reserve and responds automatically when a large generator, load or line trips and frequency moves sharply.
Why are FCAS prices the same in most mainland regions?
Most FCAS requirements are set for the mainland as a whole, so the same megawatt can serve any connected region. Prices separate when AEMO sets a local requirement, for example when a region could be islanded by an interconnector outage, and Tasmania, joined only by Basslink, often has its own price.
What are the 1-second FCAS markets?
Very fast raise and lower contingency services that must respond within one second. AEMO introduced them on 9 October 2023, mainly to cope with lower system inertia as coal plants retire, bringing the number of FCAS markets to ten.
Why do FCAS prices spike?
A market spikes when there is not enough cheap capacity offered to meet the requirement. Common causes are network outages that create local requirements, especially in South Australia, units unavailable for maintenance, and periods when the same plant is needed for energy.
How often are these FCAS prices updated?
Every 5 minutes. A cron job on our server reads each new AEMO dispatch file, and this page checks for a new interval every minute while it is open.
Can I download the FCAS data?
Yes. The monthly average price of every market in every region is available as a CSV at /api/nem/fcas-monthly.csv, and the current prices are in the JSON feed at /api/nem/latest.json. Please credit AEMO as the source.