Electricity prices for 9 October delivery increased across Southeast Europe, with Hungary reaching €269.43/MWh and Serbia posting the largest daily rise among the markets covered. Lower wind generation and nuclear outages tightened regional supply, increasing reliance on imports. The move also widened price differences between Southeast Europe and Central European markets.
Hungary’s day-ahead premium over Germany expanded to €190.86/MWh, compared with about €74.9/MWh a day earlier. While German electricity prices fell, most Southeast European markets recorded higher levels. The increases came despite higher cross-border imports into the region.
Day-ahead price changes across Serbia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria
Serbia’s SEEPEX day-ahead average rose by €60.6/MWh to €239.96/MWh, an increase of roughly 34%. Hungary added €55.2/MWh, or nearly 26%, while Romania climbed by €45.8/MWh to €255.20/MWh. Bulgaria’s average increased by €33.1/MWh to €241.49/MWh.
The price rally was linked to tighter generation availability rather than a major demand increase. Forecast electricity consumption across the covered markets rose by only 118 MW to 30,187 MW. Expected wind generation fell by 1,354 MW to 1,376 MW, almost halving versus the previous day.
Wind decline, solar support and higher net imports
Solar generation was forecast to rise by 319 MW to 5,339 MW. That increase offset less than a quarter of the wind output decline. Combined wind and solar generation fell by about 1,035 MW, increasing the need for alternative generation.
Regional net imports increased by 1,523 MW to 4,247 MW, representing about 14% of forecast consumption compared with 9% a day earlier. Imports through monitored Austria–Slovakia routes into Hungary and Slovenia rose by 1,307 MW to 3,555 MW. Even with higher imports, Hungary’s premium over Germany widened.
The widening premium indicated that additional cross-border supply did not remove regional price differences. Daily averages alone do not show whether transmission constraints affected flows. The market data therefore pointed to supply tightness in the region rather than demand growth.
Nuclear outages in Romania and Bulgaria reduce available output
Nuclear outages contributed to the regional supply balance pressure. Romania’s Cernavoda plant was reported with both reactors unavailable, with the outage expected to continue until at least 15 October. Any restart would depend on conditions on the Danube.
Bulgaria’s Kozloduy plant entered annual maintenance for unit 6, scheduled to run until the end of November. Unit 5 was operating at around 917 MW gross, with available output also affected by low river levels. Across the covered regional generation markets, nuclear production had already declined by 645 MW to 3,216 MW on 8 October.
Southeast European price moves beyond Hungary and Serbia; forward prices firm in Hungary
Northern Balkan and Adriatic markets: Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia higher; Greece and North Macedonia up; Albania down
Price increases were recorded across other Southeast European markets with varying magnitudes. Montenegro’s BELEN average rose by €14.6/MWh to €223.39/MWh, while Croatia increased by €22.1/MWh to €222.92/MWh. Slovenia advanced by €14.6/MWh to €211.73/MWh.
Greece’s day-ahead average climbed by
