Southeast Europe entered the summer demand season with a surprising combination: higher electricity consumption and lower average power prices across most markets. Regional demand reached 15.85 TWh in Week 24, up 4.6% from the previous week, but the price trend was broadly downward.
The strongest demand increases came from Italy and Türkiye. Italy added 319.8 GWh, lifting consumption 6.7% to 5.12 TWh. Türkiye added 246.7 GWh, rising 3.8% to 6.74 TWh. Greece also posted a strong percentage increase, up 5.8% to 1.01 TWh. Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary all recorded more moderate gains.
The reason prices softened despite higher load was renewable generation. Regional wind and solar output rose to 3.64 TWh, up 16.6% week on week. Solar generation reached 2.23 TWh, while wind rose to 1.40 TWh. Türkiye, Serbia, Hungary and Bulgaria all posted strong renewable increases, improving supply availability during a period of rising demand.
The price effect was visible in most markets. Serbia fell 21.5% to €78.22/MWh, Bulgaria 7.2% to €93.58/MWh, Croatia 7.3% to €92.02/MWh, Romania 4.7% to €97.38/MWh, Hungary 4.3% to €98.71/MWh and Italy 3.8% to €123.17/MWh. Greece was the exception, rising 2.6% to €91.53/MWh.
The summer pattern is becoming clearer. Solar and wind can absorb part of the cooling-demand increase and soften average prices, but the evening curve, hydro availability and thermal dispatch still decide the real cost of system balancing. Week 24 was not a weak-demand market; it was a stronger-renewables market.
