In Week 02 of 2025, electricity prices in Southeast Europe (SEE) dropped due to lower electricity demand and reduced gas prices. All SEE markets saw a decrease in electricity prices, except for Türkiye. Serbia and Italy recorded the largest percentage drops in electricity prices, with decreases of -10.10% and -6.61%, respectively. Greece and Bulgaria also saw reductions of -5.19% and -4.32%, respectively.
In Central Europe, electricity prices showed a mixed performance during the week of January 6, 2025, as gas prices, wind energy, and demand experienced varied trends across major European electricity markets. While declining gas prices and increased wind energy production drove prices down in some markets, rising demand led to price increases in others. Despite these fluctuations, weekly electricity prices in most European markets remained above €100/MWh. However, Germany and France saw prices fall below this threshold. In Central Europe, prices ranged from €90 to €124/MWh, with Switzerland being the most expensive market at €123.51/MWh, an increase of 4.83% from Week 01 of 2025. Slovakia followed with €116.03/MWh. France had the lowest price at €89.65/MWh, a decrease of -0.54% from the previous week, as its nuclear output increased.
Across Europe, weekly average prices in Week 02 were around €109/MWh, with prices ranging from €89.65/MWh in France to €131.11/MWh in Italy. In the Iberian Peninsula (MIBEL), prices fell sharply, reaching €85.91/MWh in Portugal and €85.19/MWh in Spain, down by -24.86% and -25.19%, respectively. In Southern Europe, all SEE countries, except Türkiye, had prices above €100/MWh, ranging between €68 and €131/MWh. Türkiye had the lowest weekly average at €68.46/MWh, followed by Croatia, which recorded the second lowest price in SEE at €114.28/MWh. Italy had the highest average price in SEE at €131.11/MWh, although this was a decrease of -6.61% compared to the previous week. Greece ranked second in the region, with an average price of €120.21/MWh.
During Week 02 of 2025, electricity demand in the SEE region decreased by -1.70%, totaling 16,530.64 GWh, as temperatures remained mild for most of the week, though cold spells occurred in the early mornings. Romania saw the largest drop in demand (-10.64%), followed by Italy (-5.66%) and Serbia (-5.28%). Hungary and Croatia experienced smaller decreases of -4.82% and -1.38%, respectively. In contrast, Bulgaria, Türkiye, and Greece saw increases in demand, with Bulgaria rising by 6.56%, Türkiye by 2.89%, and Greece by 1.93%.
The region’s variable renewable energy output fell by -2.2% in Week 02, totaling 2,356.83 GWh. Wind energy generation dropped by -5.1%, reaching 1,722.22 GWh, due to weak wind conditions in Italy, Croatia, and Romania, which saw reductions of -18.1%, -38.5%, and -28.0%, respectively. On the other hand, solar energy output surged by 6.6%, totaling 634.61 GWh, driven by increased solar generation in Italy, Hungary, and Türkiye, with growth rates of 30.5%, 30.0%, and 23.2%, respectively.
Hydropower production in SEE increased by 9.08% in Week 02, totaling 2,058.62 GWh. Hungary, Serbia, Italy, Bulgaria, and Romania all experienced significant increases in hydropower generation, with Hungary seeing the largest rise (+48.86%), followed by Serbia (+33.21%) and Italy (+32.64%), thanks to heavy rainfall. In contrast, Greece, Türkiye, and Croatia saw lower hydropower output, with reductions of -21.70%, -1.7%, and -0.04%, respectively.
Thermal power generation in SEE increased by 26.58%, totaling 9,934.19 GWh. This was primarily driven by a 44.25% increase in gas-fired generation, reaching 6,188.62 GWh, and a 5.27% increase in coal-fired generation, which amounted to 3,745.57 GWh. Türkiye saw an increase in coal-fired generation (+4.64%) but a decline in gas-fired generation (-23.69%). In Bulgaria, coal generation rose by 12.72%, while gas-fired generation fell by -1.41%. Italy saw significant growth in both coal (+13.19%) and gas (+105.94%) generation. Greece experienced a 25.39% rise in lignite generation, while gas generation fell by -7.43%.
Regarding cross-border electricity trade, net electricity imports across SEE increased by 23.28%, totaling 1,632.15 GWh, driven by higher imports in the Italian market. Net exports from SEE decreased by -22.4%, amounting to 112.53 GWh, while imports rose by 18.8%, reaching 1,744.68 GWh. Italy and Romania saw notable increases in net imports, with Italy’s imports rising by 39.53% and Romania’s by 465%, while other SEE countries like Croatia, Serbia, and Bulgaria saw decreases in net imports. Türkiye continued to export electricity but with a 1.67% decrease in net exports compared to the previous week. Greece reversed its import position, transitioning to net electricity exports of 45.28 GWh.
