During Week 50 of 2025, electricity prices across Southeast Europe (SEE) eased, with two-digit weekly declines observed in all SEE markets, except Türkiye. Despite these weekly drops, several markets recorded daily prices above €100/MWh, resulting in a regional average of approximately €112/MWh. Prices started the week at elevated levels, peaked on Wednesday, December 10, and gradually stabilized around €96/MWh by the end of the week. Greece and Bulgaria registered the largest week-on-week decreases at -17.51% and -15.96%, respectively, followed by Hungary and Romania with declines of -15.11% and -14.67%.
In Central Europe, weekly electricity prices fell during the second week of December, averaging around €92/MWh. Stable electricity demand compared to the previous week, combined with lower TTF gas prices, contributed to the price reduction across all central European markets. Prices ranged from €63/MWh to €114/MWh, with Austria posting the highest average at €113.74/MWh, despite a -12.25% weekly decline, followed by Switzerland at €112.63/MWh. The lowest price was recorded in France at €62.91/MWh, down -2.69% compared to the prior week.
Across Europe, the wholesale electricity market averaged €100.52/MWh during Week 50, with significant regional price dispersion. Weekly prices ranged from a low of €62.91/MWh in France to a high of €113.74/MWh in Austria. In contrast, Iberian (MIBEL) markets saw sharp increases, with Spain and Portugal posting +26.82%, averaging €81.81/MWh. In Southern Europe, most SEE countries recorded weekly averages above €100/MWh, except for Greece and Türkiye. Prices ranged from €59/MWh to €113/MWh, with Türkiye at the lowest €58.59/MWh and Greece at €99.26/MWh after a -17.51% decline. Serbia had the highest weekly average at €113.22/MWh, down -13.09% from the previous week, while Italy and Hungary also ranked among the priciest markets at €112.49/MWh and €112.45/MWh, respectively. Daily peaks occurred on Wednesday, December 10, with the lowest prices on Sunday, December 14. Day-ahead prices on December 17 ranged from €120.01/MWh in Greece and €125.91/MWh in Slovenia to €133.11/MWh in Serbia and €156.21/MWh in Albania.
Electricity demand in the SEE region remained broadly stable, decreasing slightly by -0.10% week-on-week to 17,481.64 GWh. Average temperatures were milder than the previous week in most markets. The overall decline was driven by reduced consumption in Italy and Croatia, with Italy alone lowering total SEE demand by 395.44 GWh (-6.69%). In contrast, Serbia, Romania, and Greece saw demand increases of 17.04%, 3.58%, and 3.06%, respectively, reflecting stronger residential and industrial heating needs.
Generation from variable renewable energy sources decreased by -8.2% week-on-week to 1,957.03 GWh, primarily due to lower wind output, while solar generation increased by 34.7% to 806.34 GWh. Wind generation contracted by -24.9% to 1,150.68 GWh, with the steepest declines in Hungary (-77.6%), Italy (-74.0%), and Romania (-64.3%). Solar gains were strongest in Greece (+63.8%), Bulgaria (+32.6%), and Italy (+36.2%). Hydropower generation reversed its previous upward trend, falling -8.4% to 1,903.97 GWh, with Romania, Bulgaria, Italy, and Türkiye registering the largest drops (-30.35%, -23.49%, -14.26%, -4.22%), while Croatia posted a 294.8% increase, highlighting the impact of local hydrological conditions.
Thermal power generation remained largely stable, increasing slightly by 0.53% to 9,696.23 GWh. The rise was driven by higher coal/lignite output, while gas-fired generation fell -0.98% to 5,996.46 GWh. Coal-fired production increased by 3.07% to 3,699.76 GWh. Country-level trends varied: in Türkiye, coal rose 1.39% and gas declined -0.29%; Bulgaria saw gas generation drop -12.27% with a minor coal decline of -0.91%; Greece’s coal generation increased 7.43% to 92.85 GWh, while gas-fired output decreased -1.66%.
Cross-border electricity exchanges in SEE surged, with net imports rising 41.74% to 1,621.36 GWh. Serbia, Croatia, Italy, and Hungary increased net imports sharply by 1,287.43%, 23.87%, 18.41%, and 7.20%, respectively. In contrast, Türkiye and Greece remained net exporters; Greece’s net exports rose 112.62%, while Türkiye’s declined slightly -2.18%. Bulgaria switched to net exports, while Romania became a net importer.
