In July 2025, battery energy storage revenues in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) fell by over 60% as energy price volatility eased. While this marked a return to typical market conditions after an exceptional June, performance across the fleet remained uneven. South Australian batteries led on total revenue thanks to multiple days of high FCAS prices, yet many assets across the NEM struggled to capture full value.
This article provides an overview of NEM grid-scale battery revenues in July 2025: how revenues compared to previous months, the effect of energy trading and FCAS prices on earnings, revenues by state, and asset-specific factors that led to performance deviations from the index.
Find last month’s report here
Executive summary
- NEM-wide average battery revenues fell over 60% in July to $157k/MW/year. Energy price volatility returned to more typical levels after an exceptional June, compressing price spreads and reducing revenues across all regions except South Australia.
- South Australian batteries topped the leaderboard for the first time since February 2025. Batteries captured value from elevated Lower Contingency prices, pushing South Australia to the top of the revenue leaderboard.
- Lower 1s Contingency prices hit the new market price cap. Transmission outages on the South Australia–Victoria interconnector drove Lower 1s FCAS price above $20,000/MWh on July 24 and 27.
- Portfolio bidding in South Australia enabled AGL to maximise fleet-wide revenue. AGL created headroom for its thermal assets to raise evening wholesale prices without risking a price crash by bidding its battery capacity into Regulation FCAS.
July battery revenues dropped 60% month-on-month, cooling off after an especially volatile June
NEM-wide battery net revenues averaged $157k/MW/year in July, falling over 60% from the June highs. Low energy price volatility saw revenues return to their 12-month average, $155k/MW/year, held up by the highest Lower Contingency earnings since May 2024.
