ASX to list New Morning and Evening Peak Futures Contracts
Mon 14 Apr 2025
As per Notice 0365.25.04, ASX intends to list new Australian Peak Load Electricity Futures Contracts across NSW, QLD, VIC and SA.
The new contracts are designed to reflect the primary periods of operational demand in the National Electricity Market. This involves listing separate Morning and Evening Peak Futures Contracts (‘Peak Futures Contracts’) across each of the regions above on a quarterly basis out to four years. Strips will be listed over the new Peak Contracts to allow for efficient trading of the underlying quarters.
Timeline – subject to internal/external readiness and regulatory approval
The listing of the new Peak Futures Contracts will begin in June 2025 and will follow a phased implementation approach. One state will be listed per week, starting with NSW, followed by VIC, QLD, and SA in that order. The first contract listed for trading will be Q3 2025 (September 2025 expiry), and contracts will be listed out to four years until Q2 2029 (June 2029 expiry).
The listing dates for each state will be communicated via a market notice in late May / early June 2025 following the receipt of the necessary approvals and readiness confirmations.
Testing
The new Peak Futures Contracts will be listed in CDE + / CDE according to the schedule below and will be available for Market Participants to test until May 16th, 2025.
| Region | Environment | Date Available |
| NSW | CDE+ | 14 Apr 25 |
| NSW | CDE* | 17 Apr 25 |
| VIC | CDE+ | 17 Apr 25 |
| QLD | CDE+ | 30 Apr 25 |
| SA | CDE+ | 07 May 25 |
The contract set up, test cases and contract codes are detailed in Customer Testing Guidelines available here.
Contract Specifications
| Specifications | Australian Morning Peak Load Electricity Futures | Australian Evening Peak Load Electricity Futures |
| ASX contract code | MN, MQ, MV, MS where N = NSW, Q = QLD, V = VIC and S = SA | NN, NQ, NV, NS where N = NSW, Q = QLD, V = VIC and S = SA |
| Strips | JN, JQ, JV, JS where N = NSW, Q = QLD, V = VIC and S = SA | LN, LQ, LV, LS where N = NSW, Q = QLD, V = VIC and S = SA |
| Underlying | One megawatt of electrical energy per hour during the peak load profile, bought and sold in a region, as determined by the Market Operators of the Wholesale Electricity Pool Market conduct by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), over a period of a quarter. | One megawatt of electrical energy per hour during the peak load profile, bought and sold in a region, as determined by the Market Operators of the Wholesale Electricity Pool Market conduct by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), over a period of a quarter. |
| Contract unit | One Morning Peak Contract per region over the Calendar Quarter. The regions are NSW, QLD, VIC and SA | One Evening Peak Contract per region over the Calendar Quarter. The regions are NSW, QLD, VIC and SA. |
| Contract Hours | Morning Peak is defined as the hours between 6:00am - 9:00am AEST (NEM time) Monday – Sunday. | Evening Peak is defined as the hours between 4:00pm – 9:00pm AEST (NEM time) Monday – Sunday. |
| Settlement months | March/June/September/December out to four Calendar Years and three Financial Years or three Calendar Years and four Financial Years. | March/June/September/December out to four Calendar Years and three Financial Years or three Calendar Years and four Financial Years. |
| Minimum Price Movement | AUD $0.01 per megawatt hour | AUD $0.01 per megawatt hour |
| Final Trading Day | The last Business Day of the Settlement Month. | The last Business Day of the Settlement Month. |
| Settlement Day | The fourth Business Day following the Final Trading Day. | The fourth Business Day following the Final Trading Day. |
| Settlement Method | Cash settled. The settlement price is the Peak Load spot price for the region as calculated by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). The Peak Load spot price for the region shall be the 5-minute Peak Load spot price occurring during the contract hours of the relevant quarter. | Cash settled. The settlement price is the Peak Load spot price for the region as calculated by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). The Peak Load spot price for the region shall be the 5-minute Peak Load spot price occurring during the contract hours of the relevant quarter. |
| Trading Hours | 10:00am – 4:00pm | 10:00am – 4:00pm |
| Block trade threshold | 25 lots | 25 lots |
| EFP | Yes | Yes |
| Expiry Position Limit | N/A | N/A |
| Options | N/A | N/A |
| Bloomberg code | TBC | TBC |
| Refinitiv code | TBC | TBC |
What do I need to do by when?
Market Participants and vendors are encouraged to review the customer testing guidelines and contract specifications and undertake appropriate testing within the testing window (14th April 2025 to 16th May 2025).
Data and Software Vendors are advised to ensure that their systems are set up to accurately reflect the contract codes in section 7 of the customer testing guidelines and confirm their readiness in writing.
Market Participants wanting to trade the new Peak Futures Contracts should be in contact with their Clearing Participant to ensure they are aware of the listing and intend to clear the new product(s) from go live.
Need more information?
Issued by
Harish Chandilyan, Product Manager, Commodities
Contact information
Commodities@asx.com.au
or
Investor Support
(02) 9338 0000
www.asx.com.au/contact