TAS Electricity Spot Price Today

How Tasmania's price behaves

Tasmania runs almost entirely on renewable energy, mostly hydro, with a growing amount of wind. Hydro is dispatchable: water stored behind a dam can be released when prices are high and held back when they are low. So Tasmania's price usually tracks what its stored water is worth, which in turn follows prices on the mainland.

Tasmania's demand is small and dominated by a few large industrial loads, so a single large plant changing its consumption can move the regional picture. When Victoria's price falls below zero and Basslink is flowing south, Tasmania often goes negative too, which is why it records more negative-price hours than you might expect for a hydro system.

Interconnectors

Tasmania's only link to the mainland is Basslink, a high-voltage direct current cable under Bass Strait to Victoria, rated at around 500 MW. When Basslink is at its limit, or out of service, Tasmania's price separates from Victoria's. Marinus Link, a proposed second interconnector, would add capacity and let Tasmanian hydro firm more mainland wind and solar.

Renewable energy zones

The North West Tasmania renewable energy zone is where most new wind generation is planned, tied closely to Marinus Link and the transmission upgrades that support it. For projects there, the interconnector timetable is as important as the local price. Our grid connection studies cover the network questions that come first.