Southeast Europe’s variable renewable generation fell faster than electricity demand in the week to 20 September, affecting how much price relief weaker consumption could provide. Wind and solar output together declined 8.0% to 3,381.01 GWh, while regional electricity demand fell 6.37% to 16,542.31 GWh. Wind output dropped 10.3% to 1,407.02 GWh, and solar declined 6.2% to 1,973.99 GWh.
Diverging renewable performance across regional markets
The reduction in variable renewables was not uniform across countries. Serbia’s variable renewable output fell 69.6%, while Croatia’s declined 54.3%. Romania recorded a 25.9% fall.
Hungary moved in the opposite direction, with combined wind and solar output rising 3.0%. The increase was supported by a 5.3% rise in solar generation.
Implications for balancing and price formation
The differences across markets helped explain why falling regional demand did not translate into a consistent drop in power prices. Each market had to balance its own hourly generation, consumption and import options.
The week also highlighted that exposure for suppliers and plant operators depends on both the timing of renewable output and its weekly total. A sharp production decline can change purchases, scheduling and balancing needs before it becomes visible in the weekly average price.