More than 25% of electricity used in Serbia in October came from imports, valued at around €100 million, or roughly €3 million a day, energy expert Željko Marković said. The figure concerns electricity purchases by EPS, Serbia’s electricity company, and comes as the country entered the heating season with maintenance largely completed but continued dependence on imported power.
Weak hydropower production was identified as the immediate reason for the imports, rather than an outage at a single thermal unit. Returning coal units from overhaul would not remove the exposure if poor hydrology cuts low-variable-cost hydropower and forces EPS to buy during expensive regional hours. High European gas prices add pressure because gas-fired generation often sets peak electricity prices across interconnected markets.
Serbia’s existing reversible hydropower facility at Bajina Bašta has capacity a little above 600 MW. It can shift energy, but is insufficient to cover prolonged supply deficits. Proposed pumped-storage projects at Bistrica and Đerdap 3 are presented as potential protection against volatile import prices and intermittent renewable generation, not simply as new generation capacity.
The exposure carries both financial and physical security-of-supply risks: the system can remain technically supplied while imports drain value during the most expensive hours. Serbia’s strategic challenge is whether it can expand flexibility faster than the gap created by ageing thermal assets, variable hydropower and rising renewable penetration. The import situation strengthens the investment case for pumped hydro, battery energy storage systems, demand response and stronger cross-border hedging, alongside new generation.
