Serbia delivered the most dramatic weekly price correction in the SEE power market during Week 24. The Serbian day-ahead average fell 21.5% to €78.22/MWh, making it the second-cheapest market in the regional comparison after Türkiye. For a market often exposed to regional import pricing and lignite-linked dispatch, the move was a notable softening.
Demand growth was moderate. Serbian electricity consumption rose 2.0% to 554.08 GWh, far below the absolute demand increases seen in Italy and Türkiye. The larger change came from supply. Serbia’s variable renewable output increased 76.8%, a strong weekly rise from a still-limited base. This additional wind and solar production helped push the Serbian price below the broader SEE cluster.
The lower price did not mean Serbia moved away from coal. Serbian coal-fired output increased by 66.0 GWh, while hydropower generation fell 4.2%. The system therefore remained dependent on lignite and coal generation for balancing, even as renewable output helped reduce market prices. This combination matters for industrial buyers, traders and lenders because it shows that price softness can coexist with a carbon-intensive marginal supply structure.
Serbia’s import position remained unchanged, which suggests that the weekly price fall came more from internal supply mix and regional price convergence than from a major change in cross-border dependence. The June 17 day-ahead map showed Serbia at €83.87/MWh, the lowest value among the SEE markets shown for that day.
The liquidity issue remains visible. Serbia’s weekly market volume was only 120 GWh, far below Italy’s 22,300 GWh, Greece’s 4,030 GWh, Bulgaria’s 2,320 GWh and Hungary’s 2,090 GWh. Serbia can deliver a sharp price signal, but its exchange depth remains limited, leaving traders and corporate offtakers exposed to liquidity constraints when hedging, scheduling or structuring physical positions.
