In March 2026, grid-scale battery revenues in the National Electricity Market (NEM) fell 19% month-on-month to $44k/MW/year, the lowest monthly revenue since Modo began tracking the index in July 2022. Mild peak demand and increasing competition across the battery fleet narrowed energy spreads in March, while FCAS prices remained subdued.
This is typical of shoulder months, when demand is lower, and sustained price volatility is absent. Revenue outcomes were lower and more compressed across the mainland than in February. Winter is now approaching, when battery revenues are usually more concentrated in shorter periods of high volatility.
This article reviews grid-scale battery revenues for March 2026, including month-on-month comparisons, the contribution from energy and FCAS, state-level outcomes, and asset-level performance.
Check out last month's report here.
The main feature of March was not one weak state, but a weaker market across the mainland. Revenue outcomes converged, with much less separation between states than in February.
This reflects a shoulder-month market. Demand was not strong enough to produce sustained evening price strength, and FCAS markets remained subdued. As a result, no region saw the level of volatility needed to materially outperform.
States that saw stronger conditions in February moved back toward the mainland average, while regions that were already weak saw little change. The result was a more uniform and lower revenue outcome across the NEM.
Frequent negative pricing during the day was not enough to support strong battery revenues in March. The more important change was weaker evening price strength, which narrowed energy spreads across the mainland.
Batteries still had opportunities to charge at low or negative prices, but fewer intervals provided the price separation needed to generate strong returns. This shift in the shape of prices, rather than the level of daytime prices, explains most of the decline in revenues.
Energy spreads declined across all four mainland states in March. In particular, regions that had seen elevated spreads in February returned to more typical levels of the last 6-months.
At a NEM level, spreads remained below the level needed to support strong battery returns. Without sustained periods of high evening prices, batteries were limited to cycling between modest negative and positive price intervals.
FCAS prices remained low throughout March. Regulation services contributed more than contingency services, but FCAS still offered limited value.
Short periods of contingency volatility provided some additional value for Queensland batteries, but this was not enough to materially support revenues at a NEM-wide level. In most intervals, FCAS markets did not offer a meaningful alternative to energy trading.
Lower market-wide revenue did not translate into uniform asset performance. Capture rates varied across the fleet, reflecting differences in strategy, duration and availability.
In a weaker market, these differences matter more. When spreads are wide, most assets can earn. When spreads are narrow, the assets that can sustain dispatch across more price intervals or maintain higher availability are better able to capture the available value.
Longer-duration batteries were better placed in this environment, as they can dispatch across more price intervals and capture more value per MW over the day.
New South Wales recorded the largest month-on-month decline in battery revenues. The main driver was the reduction in energy price volatility compared with February. As spreads narrowed, arbitrage value fell, and revenues fell further from the mainland average.
Eraring 1 earned more than double the next-best battery, Riverina 1, reflecting its 4-hour duration relative to the 2-hour systems in the rest of the fleet.
Queensland delivered a more stable outcome month-on-month. Energy market conditions remained subdued, but periods of contingency FCAS volatility provided an additional source of value that was not present in most other regions.
Batteries in the state earned roughly 16% of their monthly revenue from elevated Lower Contingency prices; however, these are insignificant compared to Contingency earnings in September to November 2025.
South Australia recorded the highest revenue outcome in March, supported by relatively wider energy spreads compared with the rest of the mainland.
However, the overall level of revenues remained low relative to recent months. The state led the NEM primarily because conditions were weaker elsewhere, rather than due to particularly strong market conditions.
Victoria continued to operate in a low-volatility environment. Energy spreads remained narrow, and revenues stayed subdued.
Performance differences at the asset level remained evident, but the broader market conditions in the state offered limited opportunity for strong arbitrage returns. Longer-duration batteries continue to earn nearly twice as much as their short-duration counterparts, driven by higher capture rates.