The electricity market in Southeast Europe (SEE) experienced a notable decline in prices during Week 09, reflecting a broader trend of market softening. Greece’s electricity prices decreased by 13.46%, settling at €54.07/MWh. Bulgaria and Romania saw even sharper corrections, with price drops of 22.71% and 21.72%, respectively, indicating a reduction in market pressure within the eastern Balkans. Other markets followed suit, with Hungary’s prices falling by 19.67% and Croatia by 18.15%. Serbia’s prices also dropped by 14.48%, while Turkey recorded the most significant contraction at 29.77%, highlighting a substantial domestic price adjustment. In contrast, Italy was the sole market to see an increase, rising by 1.76% to €106.67/MWh, thus maintaining a structural premium over its neighbors.
Overall, the price movements observed in Week 09 suggest improved supply-demand fundamentals and potentially stronger renewable energy output across the region, contributing to what can be described as price normalization.
In Southern Europe, most countries within SEE reported electricity prices below €100/MWh, with Turkey registering the lowest average at €20.74/MWh and Serbia following closely at €46.83/MWh after its decline. Italy remained the most expensive market with an average price of €106.67/MWh, while Hungary ranked high at €86.09/MWh. The daily peaks were recorded on January 17, while the lowest prices occurred on March 1. Central and Western European power prices generally trended lower as well, reflecting improved system fundamentals and softer marginal costs, although exceptions were noted in the Iberian Peninsula.
Significant regional corrections were evident as well; Poland’s prices fell by 20.62% to €90.37/MWh, while the Czech Republic and France saw declines of 20.25% and 20.80%, respectively. Austria’s prices dropped by 19.81%, with Slovenia easing by 18.73% and Germany by 12.99% to €74.94/MWh, where it continues to act as a pricing anchor for the region. Belgium and the Netherlands followed this downward trend, while Slovakia and Switzerland showed marginal adjustments, suggesting relative market stability amidst broader corrections.
As Week 10 commenced on March 4, Day Ahead prices indicated an upward trend across various markets; Serbia’s prices were at €99.58/MWh and Greece’s at €102.04/MWh, while Hungary reached €142.64/MWh and Slovakia €143.60/MWh.
In terms of electricity demand during Week 09, total consumption across the region decreased by 1.87% week-on-week to approximately 17,429 GWh due to milder weather conditions that eased load requirements. Hungary led the reductions with a drop of 12.34%, followed closely by Croatia at 11.28%. Romania and Bulgaria experienced moderate declines of 5.79% and 5.47%, respectively, while Italy saw a decrease of 4.22% and Greece a slight reduction of 1.80%. Conversely, Turkey’s demand increased by 3.71%, adding nearly 250 GWh compared to the previous week.
Renewable energy generation exhibited volatility during Week 09; overall wind and solar output fell by 24% week-on-week to approximately 2,996 GWh due primarily to weaker wind production levels across the region. Italy faced a significant drop in renewable energy sources (RES), down by 78% in wind generation but partially offset by a solar increase of around 4%. Croatia mirrored this decline with total RES down by roughly 77%. Meanwhile, Greece and Romania reported declines of 7.5% and 25%, respectively, despite notable solar gains in both countries—30% for Greece and nearly 70% for Romania—indicating mixed performance across different renewable sources.
Hydropower generation strengthened throughout the region, increasing by nearly 6% week-on-week to approximately 3,887 GWh, effectively countering weaker wind outputs elsewhere. Gains were led by Turkey with an increase of about 8%, while Croatia saw an extraordinary rise of nearly 489%. Romania’s hydropower output grew by around 5%, and Serbia experienced a notable increase of over 36%. However, Bulgaria and Italy recorded declines in hydropower generation of approximately -17% and -11%, respectively.
Thermal power generation also rose during this period, up by about 4% week-on-week to approximately 6,270 GWh as it compensated for weaker wind output amid selective demand shifts across markets. Notably, lignite/coal generation increased by nearly 6%, while gas-fired output rose slightly as well. Turkey led thermal generation increases with a surge of over 10% in coal production alone.
Cross-border electricity flows underwent significant changes; net imports dropped dramatically by over 79% to approximately 1,552 GWh as regional trade rebalanced itself following these market shifts. Bulgaria’s net imports fell sharply—by nearly all accounts—while Hungary’s decreased by over one-third and Turkey cut its net exports significantly as well.
In this context of shifting dynamics within the SEE electricity market landscape, Serbia maintained stable net imports while Italy emerged as a structural net importer with an increase of over one-third in its net import levels.
