On Sept. 25, Southeast European day-ahead electricity prices stayed elevated as wind generation fell and regional balances tightened, increasing reliance on imports. Most markets cleared above €200/MWh, with Albania, Romania and Hungary among the highest-priced systems. The Hungary-Germany price differential narrowed sharply during the session.
Albania led the regional price range at €223.92/MWh, followed by Romania at €219.85/MWh and Hungary at €219.62/MWh. Bulgaria settled at €216.50/MWh, Greece at €213.62/MWh, North Macedonia at €211.32/MWh, Serbia at €207.90/MWh and Croatia at €205.84/MWh. Montenegro remained below the regional cluster at €190.98/MWh.
Price changes across markets were uneven. HUPX fell by €19.70/MWh, while Romania dropped by €12.70/MWh. Greece rose by €38/MWh, and Serbia gained €20.20/MWh. North Macedonia increased by €15/MWh, while Albania added €13/MWh.
Tightening driven by weaker wind output and higher import needs
The main driver was a deterioration in the regional generation balance. Electricity consumption across Hungary and SEE increased to around 29.94 GW, while generation declined by more than 1.2 GW versus the previous day. Net imports rose by 886 MW to 3.57 GW, with imports from the Central European core increasing by more than 500 MW to 2.73 GW.
Wind generation accounted for most of the tightening as regional output plunged by almost 1.6 GW to 2.14 GW, down by more than 40% in a single session. Solar generation eased to around 5.27 GW. Dispatchable plants increased output but did not fully offset the renewable decline.
Gas-fired generation rose by about 330 MW to 4.43 GW, while hydro increased by around 210 MW to 3.72 GW. Coal production was little changed and nuclear generation remained broadly stable.
Narrower HU-DE spread alongside continued structural import requirements
The tightening occurred despite a substantial narrowing in the Hungary-Germany differential. German day-ahead power rose to around €176.63/MWh, while HUPX declined to €219.62/MWh. This cut the Hungarian premium to about €43/MWh, from more than €100/MWh a day earlier.
The compression reduced the immediate price incentive for west-to-east trading but did not remove SEE’s physical need for imports. Hungary remained structurally short, with consumption of about 4.74 GW against domestic generation of roughly 3.39 GW. Net imports were approximately 1.35 GW, and Hungary continued to function both as an importing market and a transit point for regional flows.
Romania recorded one of the largest national deficits, with consumption reaching around 5.70 GW. Generation fell to about 4.13 GW, widening net imports to roughly 1.57 GW, from just under