Australia's NEM batteries earned AU$88.9m in Q3, 97% from arbitrage

Serguey Asael Shinder07 October 2026, 07:331 min read

Australia's 59 grid-scale battery energy storage systems in the National Electricity Market earned a combined estimated AU$88.91 million (US$61.99 million) in energy and frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) revenue in the third quarter of 2026, up 57% from AU$56.74 million in Q2, Energy-Storage.news reports, citing NEMPulse, a platform that tracks battery dispatch from public AEMO data.

Per unit. Across the fleet's 9,342 MW and 21,544 MWh, batteries earned AU$9,517 per MW and AU$4,127 per MWh over the quarter, roughly AU$38,000 per MW annualised. Per MW per day, a measure that strips out fleet growth and period length, earnings rose 34% to AU$103.

Where the money came from. Energy arbitrage accounted for 97% of revenue, FCAS 2% and estimated frequency performance payments 1%.

How much was left on the table. The fleet captured 54% of the revenue a perfect-foresight trader would have earned, up from 45%, leaving an estimated AU$70.59 million unrealised. Modelled on AEMO's public PREDISPATCH forecasts instead of hindsight, the fleet could have captured 69% on the 92 forecast-covered days, against 52% actually realised; NEMPulse calls that a reference point, not a floor.

Duration. Revenue per MW by duration class: 4-hour-plus systems AU$22,000, 2-hour AU$8,118, 1-hour AU$4,818 and 3-hour AU$2,418.

Assets and regions. Eraring BESS earned the most (AU$8.82 million), followed by Orana (AU$7.62 million) and Supernode (AU$6.53 million). Limondale led on energy capture at 78%; three batteries recorded negative capture, which NEMPulse says reflects contracting and operating constraints as much as trading. By region: Queensland AU$32.45 million across 14 batteries, New South Wales AU$28.12 million across 16, Victoria AU$19.87 million across 15 and South Australia AU$8.47 million across 14.