In Week 06, the Southeast European (SEE) power markets witnessed a notable downturn in electricity prices, reflecting a broader trend across Europe. The overall market dynamics indicate a shift towards more relaxed regional fundamentals, driven by decreased demand and improved generation conditions. Greece’s electricity price fell below the critical €100/MWh threshold, decreasing by 5.75% to €99.68/MWh due to lower consumption and enhanced system balance. Italy experienced a more pronounced decline of 8.95%, settling at €128.15/MWh as milder weather contributed to reduced load and better generation availability.
The bearish sentiment was particularly evident in the Balkans, where Bulgaria and Romania both recorded prices of €127.43/MWh, with Romania experiencing one of the steepest declines at 9.47%. Hungary’s price dropped by 9.53% to €131.64/MWh, while Croatia faced the largest regional decrease of 9.96%, reaching €127.11/MWh. In contrast, Türkiye demonstrated resilience with a modest drop of 5.03% to €50.18/MWh, attributed to robust domestic generation capabilities. Serbia was an outlier in this trend, with its price increasing slightly by 0.93% to €98.54/MWh.
On a broader scale across Europe, wholesale electricity prices exhibited a sharp correction during the same week, indicating easing system tightness in Central and Eastern Europe. Slovakia saw a significant decline of 14.10%, bringing its price down to €124.81/MWh, while the Czech Republic’s price fell by 11.18% to €122.00/MWh. Poland’s electricity price dropped by 17.43% to €127.86/MWh as demand weakened and cross-border flows improved, and Slovenia’s market eased by 9.95% to €126.52/MWh.
The situation in Western Europe was even more pronounced; France’s prices plummeted by 27.69% to €80.63/MWh due to improved nuclear availability coupled with lower demand levels. Germany saw a decline of 13.71%, settling at €107.60/MWh, while both Austria and Switzerland recorded decreases of 9.34%. The Benelux markets also followed this bearish trend, with Belgium and the Netherlands experiencing double-digit declines.
As the current week commenced, day-ahead prices continued their downward trajectory on February 11, ranging from €69.49/MWh in Albania and €71.70/MWh in Serbia to approximately €124/MWh in Slovenia and Hungary, highlighting ongoing regional price disparities but an overarching downward trend.
Electricity demand across the SEE region softened slightly during Week 06, decreasing by 0.7% week-on-week to reach 18.33 TWh, suggesting stable weather conditions with limited impact from temperature fluctuations. Italy reported the largest absolute reduction in demand at -78 GWh, while Greece’s consumption fell by 2.9%. Hungary and Croatia also noted moderate contractions, whereas Romania remained relatively stable with only minor changes in demand levels; Bulgaria distinguished itself with a notable increase of 3.6%.
Variable renewable energy generation in SEE decreased by 6% week-on-week to 3.26 TWh as weaker wind output overshadowed gains from solar energy production, which rose by 13%. Wind generation experienced a regional decline of 10.9%, with Greece and Croatia showing significant reductions attributed to wind performance issues; Türkiye faced the largest absolute drop due to similar factors affecting wind output levels.
Conversely, Serbia saw its renewable output more than double from a low baseline entirely driven by wind resources, while Hungary rebounded strongly thanks to increased wind and solar contributions. Italy also reported gains across both renewable sectors, providing a positive counterbalance within the region.
Hydropower generation experienced a robust recovery during this period, rising by 26.4% week-on-week to reach 3.06 TWh due to improved hydrological conditions and enhanced reservoir utilization rates; Türkiye was the primary contributor with a surge of 37.2%, complemented by significant increases from Croatia as well as improvements in Greece and Romania.
Thermal generation across SEE declined by 6.35% to total 8.36 TWh primarily driven by a substantial drop of 10.31% in gas-fired output; lignite and coal generation remained relatively stable overall despite notable reductions in Italy and Türkiye linked to decreased gas consumption levels.
Cross-border electricity flows intensified during this period, with net imports increasing by 10.5% to reach 1.33 TWh; Bulgaria recorded the most significant shift as imports surged alongside tightening domestic balances while Italy continued its role as the dominant importer within the region.
