How South Australia's grid-scale batteries performed in October 2026: energy and FCAS market revenue, $/MW, $/MWh, top performers, and price events.
South Australia (SA1) batteries earned $81k in estimated gross energy and FCAS market revenue so far in October 2026, from 14 grid-scale units tracked by NEMPulse. Figures cover October 2026 to date (through 1 Oct 2026).
Normalised across 1,101 MW and 2,048 MWh of registered capacity, the region earned $74/MW and $40/MWh for the period.
Total revenue was down 14% on the same days of September 2026, which returned $95k. Per MW per day — which strips out both fleet growth and the length of the window — earnings were down 11% at $74/MW/day. Optimal capture slipped 16 points, from 47% to 31%.
Energy arbitrage supplied 96% of the total and FCAS 4%, with estimated Frequency Performance Payments contributing the remaining 0% ($56). Within FCAS, regulation accounted for 77% and contingency 23%; the single largest market was lower regulation at $1k.
Against the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, South Australia batteries captured 31% of what hindsight would have earned, an estimated $161k of unrealised upside.
On capture of the perfect-foresight energy benchmark, the strongest performers were Templers Battery Energy Storage System (92%), Clements Gap BESS (54%), Mannum Battery Energy Storage System (51%).
The strongest single day was 1 Oct 2026 at $81k, and the best single battery-day was Templers Battery Energy Storage System on 1 Oct 2026 with $26k.
Templers Battery Energy Storage System led the region with $26k. Full dispatch, state-of-charge and bidding detail is available on each battery's page.
| Battery | Energy + FCAS | $/MW | $/MWh | Capture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Templers Battery Energy Storage System | $26k | $236/MW | $92/MWh | 92% |
| Mannum Battery Energy Storage System | $19k | $193/MW | $97/MWh | 51% |
| Blyth Battery Energy Storage System | $17k | $87/MW | $43/MWh | 30% |
| Clements Gap BESS | $13k | $215/MW | $108/MWh | 54% |
| Lake Bonney BESS1 | $4k | $166/MW | $80/MWh | — |
| Hornsdale Power Reserve | $4k | $26/MW | $20/MWh | 21% |
| Torrens Island BESS | $1k | $5/MW | $5/MWh | -0% |
| Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Renewable Power Station | $1k | $30/MW | $30/MWh | — |
| Adelaide Desalination Plant | $823 | $134/MW | $137/MWh | — |
| Happy Valley Water Treatment Plant | $556 | $139/MW | $139/MWh | — |
| Bolivar Waste Water Treatment Plant | $345 | $172/MW | $172/MWh | — |
| Christies Beach Wastewater Treatment Plant | $338 | $158/MW | $169/MWh | — |
Capture = actual energy revenue as a share of the perfect-foresight LP benchmark; shown only for units with material modelled upside.
Keep reading: Previous period: September 2026NEM-wide wrap — October 2026South Australia battery fleetActual vs optimal dispatchMarket eventsHow capture is calculated
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Automatically generated from AEMO public data using fixed templates (not AI-written). Figures are estimated gross market revenue (energy + FCAS) from dispatch — they exclude contracts, hedges and network-support schemes (e.g. SIPS), so actual commercial revenue will differ.
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