No single group controls South East Europe’s power future. The region is being reshaped by a changing balance between incumbent utilities, power exchanges, TSOs, private renewable developers, traders, financial institutions and EU-linked regulators.
The incumbents still matter enormously. State-owned and formerly state-dominated utilities control much of the region’s generation, retail supply, hydropower, thermal capacity and customer relationships. PPC in Greece, Hidroelectrica and other Romanian generators, BEH and NEK in Bulgaria, HEP in Croatia, GEN and HSE in Slovenia, MVM in Hungary, EPS in Serbia, EPCG in Montenegro, KESH in Albania and ESM in North Macedonia remain central to the physical system.
But the market around them is changing. The most important shift is that electricity is increasingly priced and traded through organised markets. Power exchanges are becoming central to transparency, settlement and regional integration. ADEX, formed through the integration of BSP SouthPool, SEEPEX and HUPX, describes itself as the first regional power exchange for Central and South Eastern Europe and operates day-ahead and intraday markets.
Other exchanges also shape price formation: HEnEx in Greece, IBEX in Bulgaria, OPCOM in Romania, CROPEX in Croatia, BSP SouthPool in Slovenia and HUPX in Hungary. These platforms connect national markets to wider European coupling, clearing and trading structures.
In the Western Balkans, the exchange landscape is younger but increasingly important. SEEPEX in Serbia, ALPEX for Albania and Kosovo, MEMO in North Macedonia and MEPX in Montenegro are part of the region’s gradual shift toward transparent short-term price formation. The Energy Community’s Q1 2026 CBAM analysis showed diverging exchange-volume trends: ALPEX, MEPX and MEMO grew, while SEEPEX declined, partly reflecting different exposure to hydro-driven liquidity and transit-based trading.
Transmission system operators are another decisive group. In a region where price spreads often reflect congestion, TSOs do not merely operate wires; they shape market outcomes. Capacity calculation, outage coordination, interconnector availability and implementation of cross-zonal-capacity rules can determine whether cheap power can flow into high-price zones.
Traders are gaining influence because volatility is increasing. In a 15-minute, renewable-heavy market, value comes from forecasting, balancing, intraday optimisation and cross-border optionality. The old model of buying annual baseload and managing a simple position is no longer enough. Trading houses with analytics, automation and access to multiple markets can extract value from volatility that less sophisticated participants experience as risk.
Private renewable developers are also becoming stronger. They are bringing capital, project pipelines and international standards into markets historically dominated by incumbents. But their influence depends on grid access, permitting and offtake. The most successful developers will be those that combine generation with storage, PPAs, balancing capability and financing discipline.
Financial institutions are the final major player group. EBRD, EIB, commercial banks, green-bond investors and public equity investors are increasingly shaping which projects are built. EBRD’s €175 million loan to PPC for regional renewables is an example of how financial institutions can support cross-border utility strategies, not only individual projects.
The power future of South East Europe will not be controlled by one champion. It will be negotiated between asset owners, grid operators, exchanges, traders, regulators and capital providers. The winners will be those that understand how these groups interact — because in the new market, owning megawatts is only one part of controlling value.
