NSW’s grid batteries earned an estimated $5.63M in just under two hours on 12 October.
A sudden jump in NSW demand pushed wholesale prices to a peak of $23,107/MWh between 2:10pm and 4:05pm. At times demand rose by nearly 500 MW in a single five-minute interval. Across the event, prices averaged $7,415/MWh. Batteries that had charged earlier in the day discharged into those prices.
For scale, that’s more than double Victoria’s best single day last quarter. It’s also equal to 62% of what the entire NEM battery fleet earned the week before. New England BESS led the field at $1.25M across its two units, with Liddell, Orana and Eraring each close to $0.9M.
Not every unit responded. Only 11 of the 18 NSW batteries dispatched, and 5 sat near full charge for most of the event. A battery’s value depends on more than its capacity. Contracts, network obligations and operating strategy all shape how it performs when the price signal arrives.
These figures are early estimates based on dispatch targets, so they may change once settled. Still, events like this show how much value storage now adds to a grid with more solar in it.
Read the original analysis from NEMPulse here 👉
Tranex Power - Building A Brighter Future
.png)