In Week 06, the Southeast Europe (SEE) electricity markets experienced a notable decline in prices, reflecting a shift towards looser regional fundamentals. Greece saw its prices drop below the critical €100/MWh threshold, decreasing by 5.75% week-on-week to €99.68/MWh due to reduced demand and improved system balance. Italy faced a more significant decrease of 8.95%, settling at €128.15/MWh as milder weather contributed to lower load and better generation availability. The bearish sentiment was particularly evident in the Balkans, where Bulgaria and Romania both recorded prices of €127.43/MWh, with Romania experiencing a steep decline of 9.47%. Hungary’s prices fell by 9.53% to €131.64/MWh, while Croatia reported the largest drop in the region at 9.96%, reaching €127.11/MWh. In contrast, Türkiye managed to remain structurally decoupled from these trends, with a modest decline of 5.03% to €50.18/MWh attributed to robust domestic generation capabilities. Serbia was an outlier in this trend, showing an increase of 0.93% to €98.54/MWh.
On a broader European scale, wholesale electricity prices underwent a sharp correction during the same week, indicating an easing of system tightness across various regions. Central and Eastern Europe exhibited strong downward momentum; Slovakia’s prices fell by 14.10% to €124.81/MWh, while the Czech Republic saw an 11.18% decline to €122.00/MWh. Poland experienced a significant drop of 17.43%, landing at €127.86/MWh as demand softened and cross-border flows improved, while Slovenia’s prices eased by 9.95% to €126.52/MWh.
In Western Europe, corrections were even more pronounced; France’s electricity price plummeted by 27.69% to €80.63/MWh due to enhanced nuclear availability coupled with weaker demand conditions. Germany’s prices decreased by 13.71% to €107.60/MWh, with Austria and Switzerland also experiencing declines of approximately 9.34%. The Benelux markets mirrored this bearish trend, with both Belgium and the Netherlands reporting double-digit price reductions.
As Week 06 progressed into February 11, day-ahead prices continued their downward trajectory across the region, ranging from €69.49/MWh in Albania and €71.70/MWh in Serbia to approximately €124/MWh in Slovenia and Hungary—illustrating ongoing regional price dispersion amid an overall downward bias.
Electricity demand across SEE softened slightly during Week 06, decreasing by 0.7% week-on-week to reach a total of 18.33 TWh—a sign of stable weather conditions with limited temperature variations impacting consumption patterns. Italy recorded the largest decrease with an absolute drop of 78 GWh, while Greece’s demand fell by 2.9%. Notably, Bulgaria was an exception on the upside with a demand increase of 3.6%, showcasing stable underlying consumption trends.
Variable renewable energy generation within SEE also saw a week-on-week decrease of 6% to total 3.26 TWh; this downturn was primarily driven by weaker wind output outweighing gains from solar energy sources which rose by 13%. Wind generation fell sharply by 10.9%, particularly affecting Greece and Croatia, while Türkiye recorded its largest absolute drop due to diminished wind activity.
Conversely, hydropower generation rebounded impressively during this period, increasing by 26.4% week-on-week to reach approximately 3.06 TWh due to favorable hydrological conditions and enhanced reservoir utilization practices across the region—Türkiye being a key contributor with a surge of 37.2%. Croatia also noted significant gains from a low base alongside improvements in Greece and Romania that added flexibility within their energy mixes.
Thermal generation across SEE declined by approximately 6.35%, totaling around 8.36 TWh largely due to a substantial drop in gas-fired output (down by over 10%). Italy and Türkiye both reduced their thermal output linked primarily to lower gas consumption levels; however, Romania managed slight increases as higher coal production offset reductions from gas usage.
Cross-border electricity flows intensified during this period as net imports rose by about 10.5% reaching approximately 1.33 TWh—Bulgaria noted the most significant changes as imports surged amid tightening domestic balances while Italy continued its role as the dominant importer within the region.
