Energy-intensive exporters in the Western Balkans face simultaneous exposure to volatile electricity prices and the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), as Serbia’s peak power prices exceeded EUR400/MWh in early November. The two pressures can affect factory margins and the carbon costs faced by EU importers.
For delivery on November 9, Serbia’s SEEPEX baseload price was EUR352.52/MWh, according to SEEPEX. Early-November prices illustrated how expensive power procurement can become when European gas prices are high and regional systems are tight; similar scarcity conditions were visible in Romania and other connected markets.
The EU mechanism applies to covered goods sold into the bloc. Producers of steel, aluminium and cement face increasing pressure to document and reduce the embedded emissions associated with their products. Electricity can make up a material part of the carbon footprint of industrial production, particularly in power-intensive processes.
Lower-cost electricity does not automatically reduce CBAM exposure if it is carbon-intensive or cannot be documented under the applicable methodology. Conversely, renewable or lower-carbon power may improve a producer’s emissions profile but leave a factory exposed to expensive residual-load hours if its contract does not protect it during those periods.
Industrial buyers therefore need procurement strategies that combine price, physical supply and emissions evidence. Long-term renewable power purchase agreements (PPAs), guarantees of origin where relevant, metering, contractual allocation, scheduling and other documentation can form part of a broader compliance architecture. Hedging and flexible consumption can address electricity-price risk.
The issue is particularly important for Balkan factories integrated into EU supply chains, where competitors may face different power prices and carbon intensities and have different access to long-term clean-power contracts. Procurement can affect both operating margins and the carbon cost for the EU importer. The strategic response is to bring procurement, energy management, finance and compliance together around a common dataset showing when electricity was consumed, how it was sourced, what it cost and what emissions evidence supports the claim.
