Hungary, Romania and Croatia formed the tightening cluster in the Southeast European electricity market in Week 25, with day-ahead prices rising across all three. Hungary’s day-ahead price increased by 10.6% to €109.16/MWh, Romania’s rose by 7.7% to €104.84/MWh, and Croatia’s climbed 11.2% to €102.36/MWh. The changes were linked to regional market coupling, Central European price dynamics and higher pressure during evening peak hours .
Hungary as a link between Central and Southeast Europe
Hungary’s role is tied to its position between Central Europe and Southeast Europe. As prices strengthened in major Western and Central European markets, including Germany, Austria, France, Slovakia, Belgium and the Netherlands, Hungary reflected part of that broader repricing. This places the Hungarian market at the intersection of domestic SEE fundamentals and wider continental price moves.
In that context, Hungary’s pricing influence is associated with how regional coupling transmits changes from neighbouring systems into local outcomes. The week’s higher levels also coincided with increased evening peak pressure referenced in the Week 25 results .
Romania: hydro decline and lower net imports
Romania’s higher prices were associated with a more challenging domestic supply balance during the week. Electricity demand declined slightly, while hydropower generation fell by 9.8%, reducing operational flexibility. Despite relatively stable consumption levels, the loss of hydro support contributed to higher market prices.
Romania also reduced its net imports by 19.1%, yet prices continued to rise. The pattern indicated that tightening was transmitted through regional pricing mechanisms rather than being driven only by import dependency .
Croatia: stronger demand, weaker wind and higher imports
Croatia faced different drivers as electricity demand increased by 9.7% during Week 25, one of the strongest consumption gains across Southeast Europe. At the same time, renewable generation weakened due to lower wind output, reducing low-cost supply availability. Croatia responded by increasing net electricity imports.
Net electricity imports rose by 26.0%, which exposed the market more directly to higher-priced neighbouring systems. The shift also aligned with growing evening scarcity conditions highlighted in the Week 25 assessment .
Regional coupling and flexibility costs across markets
A common element across Hungary, Romania and Croatia was a gradual reduction in insulation from wider regional developments. While domestic supply-demand fundamentals remained relevant, prices increasingly reflected the cost of flexibility, cross-border flows and conditions in neighbouring markets .
The expansion of solar generation was not sufficient on its own to stabilise prices without complementary investments in storage, dispatchable generation and interconnection management . For market participants, these three markets served as indicators of regional volatility rather than consistently sitting at either end of the price distribution.
Week 25 reinforced their role as a marginal volatility zone within the Southeast European power market. As regional integration deepens and flexibility becomes more valuable, Hungary, Romania and Croatia were expected to remain among the most sensitive signals of changing supply-demand balances across the wider European electricity system .
