Regional flows and price signals
Cross-border electricity trading strengthened across Southeast Europe in Week 22, with total regional exchanges up 8.4% week-on-week to 1,117 GWh. Greece, Bulgaria and Türkiye increased exports, while Italy, Romania and Croatia recorded higher imports. The shift highlighted where trading value is being created through spreads, interconnector access and timing. As reported by Electricity.trade, SEE power trading is moving from a volume-focused approach toward spread capture.
Italy and Greece diverge on net positions
The largest pull came from Italy, where net imports rose 28.3% to more than 1.1 TWh. The Italian price increased to €123.58/MWh, aligning with higher import demand into a higher-price zone. Exporters and traders positioned for transit moved power toward Italy where capacity allowed. This pattern reflected the commercial importance of interconnectors supplying high-price markets.
Greece moved in the opposite direction, increasing net exports by 35.7% to 241 GWh. Greece also maintained a lower weekly price of €86.77/MWh. The contrast between Greece’s export position and Italy’s premium pricing supported different cross-border directions during the same week.
Bulgaria and Türkiye expand exports amid sharp price changes
Bulgaria improved its net export position from 6 GWh to 61 GWh. The change was supported by a solar-driven supply boost and an 11.3% price decline. Türkiye nearly tripled exports to 95 GWh, following a collapse in prices to €4.03/MWh. Together, the export figures showed how lower-cost or surplus markets can monetize generation via cross-border channels within available capacity limits.
Import growth varies across Romania, Croatia and Serbia
The import side also showed significant changes across multiple markets. Romania increased net imports by 27.1%, Croatia by 36.5%, and Italy by 28.3%. Hungary reduced its net import position by 18.7%. Serbia’s imports stayed broadly stable despite a 30.1% price surge.
The Serbian outcome indicated that imports do not necessarily rise when prices increase, with congestion, availability, scheduling and commercial positioning able to limit full price convergence.
Market focus for trading and flexibility assets
The trading lesson from Week 22 was that forecasting national balances alone is not sufficient for SEE cross-border activity. Value depends on interconnector capacity, auction prices, hourly spreads, renewable output, hydro availability, thermal marginality and balancing risk. Opportunities linked to Bulgaria’s solar surplus, Greece’s export position and Italy’s premium require routes that are physically and commercially accessible.
For investors, stronger cross-border activity supports demand for flexibility as spreads widen and flows intensify. Batteries, pumped storage, flexible hydro, demand response and dispatchable gas all gain value under these conditions. Renewable projects can also benefit when export capacity reduces curtailment and improves capture prices.
Integration remains incomplete despite higher volumes
Total cross-border exchanges of 1,117 GWh in Week 22 indicated that market integration across SEE is real but incomplete. In that environment, trading value is tied to where spreads develop rather than only where volumes move between surplus and deficit areas. Price differentials increasingly reflect market conditions connected to interconnector access and timing.
