In Week 39 of 2024, electricity prices across the Southeast European (SEE) market continued their downward trend compared to Week 38. Contributing factors to this decline included reduced average prices for gas and CO2 emission allowances, alongside a decrease in demand. Most countries in the SEE region saw electricity prices drop, with the exception of Türkiye. Croatia and Hungary experienced the largest percentage decreases at -24.02% and -22.75%, respectively, followed by Romania and Bulgaria with declines of -21.71% and -21.16%.
In Central Europe, weekly average spot electricity prices also fell compared to the previous week. An increase in wind energy production led to record daily outputs for September across several markets, which further supported the decrease in electricity prices, despite rising gas and CO2 prices. The prices in Central Europe ranged from €35 to €71/MWh during Week 39. Switzerland had the highest price at €70.58/MWh (down -12.48% from Week 38), followed by the Netherlands at €68.00/MWh. France recorded the lowest price in the region at €35.15/MWh, which was -17.99% lower than the previous week.
By the end of September, European weekly average electricity prices were trading around €68/MWh, with prices ranging from €35.15/MWh in France to €109.57/MWh in Italy—the only market on the continent exceeding €100/MWh. In the Iberian Peninsula, electricity prices were approximately €55.61/MWh in Portugal and €54.75/MWh in Spain.
In the southern part of Europe, all SEE countries except Italy had prices below €100/MWh, ranging from €64 to €110/MWh. Türkiye reported the lowest average price at €63.63/MWh, while Croatia recorded an average of €68.56/MWh. Italy’s average price was the highest at €109.57/MWh, albeit a -1.82% decrease from the previous week. Greece followed with an average price of €93.89/MWh, which was -8.69% lower than Week 38.
During Week 39 of 2024, electricity demand in the SEE region decreased compared to Week 38, attributed to falling average temperatures that continued the trend from the previous week. Total electricity demand across the region dropped by -1.82% to 14,806.11 GWh. While Türkiye saw a significant decline in demand by -4.91%, Romania experienced a slight increase of 3.14%. Other countries like Greece and Hungary recorded marginal increases of 0.98% and 0.79%, respectively, while Croatia, Italy, and Serbia noted decreases of -1.10%, -0.36%, and -0.15%.
The output from variable renewable energy sources in Southeast Europe fell by -2.1% during Week 39, reaching 2,313.84 GWh. This decline was driven by a reduction in wind output, which decreased by -14.7% to 1,058.85 GWh due to low wind speeds in many countries. Türkiye experienced the largest drop in wind generation at -69.8%, followed by Greece with a -53.4% decrease. Meanwhile, solar output increased by 11.9%, totaling 1,254.99 GWh, with Bulgaria and Greece seeing the highest percentage gains of 55.8% and 24.0%, respectively.
Hydropower generation in the SEE region rose by 8.11% in Week 39, achieving a total output of 2,485.29 GWh, primarily due to increased generation in Türkiye and Italy. Specifically, Türkiye and Italy benefited from precipitation, which led to increases of 12.42% and 9.53% in their hydropower outputs. In contrast, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Greece all reported declines in hydropower generation.
Thermal power generation in the SEE region decreased by -4.66% compared to the previous week, amounting to 7,152.42 GWh. This included a -4.04% decline in coal-fired generation (3,379.67 GWh) and a -5.21% decrease in gas-fired generation (3,772.79 GWh). In Türkiye, coal-fired generation dropped slightly by -0.66%, while gas-fired generation increased by 16.68%. Bulgaria’s generation from coal and natural gas fell by -20.98% and -7.59%, respectively.
In terms of cross-border electricity trade, net imports in the SEE region decreased by -5.11% in Week 39, totaling 1,088.80 GWh. The region exported 167.46 GWh, while imports fell by -2.3% to 1,256.26 GWh. Croatia and Hungary reported the largest percentage drops in net imports at -58.57% and -16.91%, respectively. Conversely, Greece and Serbia experienced significant increases in their net imports of 192.29% and 111.55%. Romania shifted from a net exporting position to a net importing one, recording imports of 54.24 GWh, while Türkiye transitioned from net imports to net exports. Bulgaria maintained its export activity but with a decrease of -12.10% in net exports.
