Day-ahead electricity prices fell across most of Southeast Europe for 14 August 2026 delivery, with forecast solar generation rising while regional consumption was broadly stable. Hourly pricing profiles still showed evening tightness, alongside exceptionally wide intraday spreads. Greece remained the cheapest market, while Italy’s premium continued to support regional exports.
Hungary’s HUPX baseload price dropped by €19.90 to €143.76/MWh. Romania decreased by €20.60 to €142.91/MWh, Slovenia fell by €21.50 to €144.19/MWh and Croatia declined by €20.90 to €143.95/MWh. These four markets stayed closely coupled, with only €1.28/MWh separating the highest and lowest prices.
Austria traded at €143.25/MWh and remained near the regional cluster. Serbia recorded the largest absolute decline, falling €22.50 to €134.72/MWh. Bulgaria settled at €125.33/MWh after a €13 drop, while Albania fell €11.30 to €135.33/MWh.
Greece cheapest as midday prices soften
Greece remained Southeast Europe’s lowest-priced market at €96.98/MWh, despite rising by €1.20 on the day. The Greek price was €46.78/MWh below HUPX. Montenegro increased by €9.50 to €151.51/MWh, while Italy stayed the most expensive major market at €174.55/MWh.
Regional electricity consumption was forecast at 31,835 MW, up by 54 MW from the previous day. Forecast solar generation increased by 1,916 MW, while wind output declined by 531 MW, lifting combined solar and wind availability by about 1,385 MW.
The higher solar output pushed midday prices lower across the region. In Hungary, the hourly minimum reached €29.60/MWh at H12, compared with a daily maximum of €261.70/MWh at H21, producing an intraday spread of €232.10/MWh.
HUPX’s reported peak average was €111.40/MWh, below the off-peak average of €176.10/MWh. A similar pattern appeared in Greece, where HEnEx reached zero at H12 and the peak-block average fell to €46.50/MWh before recovering to a maximum of €161.40/MWh at H20.
Italy’s profile remained firmer than other markets, staying above €130/MWh even at the daily minimum and reaching €254.70/MWh at H21 . The Italian premium continued to support economic incentives for Southeast European exports toward Italy.
Cross-border flows and prompt contract moves
The SEE and Hungarian system was a net exporter of about 471 MW on average, up 281 MW from the previous day . Flows toward Italy averaged around 1,261 MW, consistent with Italy trading €30.79/MWh above Hungary.
Imports into Hungary and Slovenia from Austria and Slovakia averaged 894 MW, down by 151 MW . Greek consumption decreased by 458 MW as temperatures fell by 1.6°C, reinforcing Greece’s surplus position and low-price level.
Hungarian prompt power contracts also reflected the bearish day-ahead move . Week 34 fell by €4 to €156.50/MWh, Week 35 declined by €3.50 to €157/MWh and September lost €1.50 to settle at €161/MWh.
Despite the declines, Hungarian forward prices kept a premium over Germany: the HU-DE spread stood at €25.50/MWh for Week 34, €27.50/MWh for Week 35 and €26.50/MWh for September . All three prompt spreads narrowed during the session.
Gas, carbon and nuclear supply risks
Gas and carbon markets showed mixed movement alongside power . CEGH gas fell by €1.20 to €60.73/MWh while EU allowances rose by €0.80 to €82.74 per tonne; September gas increased by €1.50 to settle at €61.50/MWh.
Nuclear availability remained a key upside risk for supply conditions . Both units at Romania’s Cernavodă nuclear power plant were unavailable, removing about 1,360 MW of capacity that normally supplies close to one-fifth of Romanian electricity consumption.
Romania requested regional support and is seeking to retain almost 900 MW of coal-fired capacity beyond its planned retirement date . Low Danube water levels also posed a risk to Hungary’s Paks nuclear plant, with emergency construction work started to protect cooling-water availability amid persistent drought conditions .
The market signal pointed to greater hourly volatility rather than only lower baseload levels . Solar generation depressed midday prices while evening scarcity continued to drive sharp spikes; Italian export demand, nuclear availability and Danube conditions were cited as factors that could tighten the market and reverse the current bearish prompt trend .
