Day-ahead power prices for 22 June moved higher across parts of Southeast Europe, with Hungary’s HUPX baseload settling at €125.41/MWh, up €40.6/MWh from the previous day. Romania’s OPCOM cleared at €124.05/MWh. Slovenia’s BSP and Croatia’s CROPEX finished close to Hungary at €124.63/MWh and €124.65/MWh, respectively.
The narrower spreads in the north-western SEE area left the corridor effectively coupled with the Hungarian hub for the session. Prices in the southern segment of the market remained much lower than in the north-west. Greece’s HENEX settled at €82.87/MWh, while Bulgaria’s IBEX cleared at €91.50/MWh.
Southern Balkan prices stay below the Hungary-led cluster
Serbia’s SEEPEX finished at €90.14/MWh, with Albania’s ALPEX at €93.95/MWh. Montenegro’s BELEN settled higher at €106.03/MWh. The resulting gap left Hungary priced above Greece by €42.54/MWh.
HUPX also traded above Serbia by €35.27/MWh, and above Bulgaria by €33.91/MWh. The spread pattern was linked to Monday demand returning alongside uneven transmission deliverability across the region.
Monday demand recovery lifts consumption and shifts hourly shapes
Forecast consumption for SEE and Hungary rose by 3,970 MW day on day to 31,181 MW. The largest absolute demand blocks were reported in Romania and Bulgaria combined at 9,325 MW, followed by Slovenia and Croatia at 9,456 MW. Greece demand was forecast at 6,254 MW, with Hungary at 4,781 MW.
The regional balance did not show a straightforward import-led scarcity outcome despite higher demand levels. Net imports for the SEE plus Hungary region were reported at -475 MW, indicating a net export position on an aggregate basis and a day-on-day swing of 884 MW. Core inflows from Austria and Slovakia into the Hungary–Slovenia area fell to 460 MW, down from the previous day by 1,095 MW.
Italy stays highest in the wider comparison; solar drives intraday compression
The Italian day-ahead market remained the premium reference point, with Italy clearing at €141.81/MWh. That level placed Italy at €16.40/MWh above HUPX, leaving export incentives toward Italy intact where cross-border capacity was available. The comparison also reflected lower-priced conditions in Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia.
The hourly profile showed a summer pattern on HUPX, with prices bottoming at €32.3/MWh in hour 14 before rising to €274.8/MWh in hour 21. Similar evening ramps were visible in Romania, Slovenia and Croatia. The intraday structure pointed to solar-led midday compression followed by evening scarcity as photovoltaic output faded and residual load increased.
Generation mix changes; Serbia remains the pricing outlier within SEEPEX-linked pricing
Total generation in the reported regional balance fell by
Total generation in the reported regional balance decreased by
900 MW day on day to
26,801 MW.
Solar output rose to
5,691 MW, while hydro declined to 5,168 MW.
The remaining mix included gas at 3,908 MW and coal at 4,206 MW, alongside wind increasing slightly to 2,230 MW. Nuclear was broadly stable at 5,059 MW. Solar accounted for around 21% of the shown power balance, with hydro and nuclear each near 19%.
The main pricing outlier was Serbia, where SEEPEX rose only €0.1/MWh day on day to €90.14/MWh. Neighbouring Croatia and Hungary moved more than €40/MWh higher over the same period. With Serbia priced below HUPX by €35/MWh, it was positioned closer to the Bulgaria–Greece complex than to the Hungary–Croatia–Slovenia corridor.
BELEN and MEMO rise; forward markets point to firmer Hungarian expectations
BELEN increased by €28.4/MWh to €106.03/MWh but remained €19.38/MWh below HUPX. Montenegro’s price level was still materially above Serbia, Albania, Bulgaria and Greece. North Macedonia also strengthened sharply as MEMO rose by €40.0/MWh to €117.39/MWh.
This narrowed North Macedonia’s discount to Hungary to €8.02/MWh. Forward markets indicated firmer near-term Hungarian power expectations: HUPX week 26 rose to €141.50/MWh and week 27 to €135.50/MWh.
The curve extended with July 2026 at €122.50/MWh and Cal-26 at €111.50/MWh for Hungarian trading expectations. Gas was broadly stable at CEGH quoted at €43.41/MWh, while Greek gas moved higher to €41/MWh. Coal forwards strengthened with July API-2 at $114.5/t and Q3 at $113/t.
Corridor pricing dominates; opportunities cluster around solar troughs and evening ramps
The session’s trading pattern reflected location and intraday shape rather than uniform regional tightness across all markets. Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Romania priced as a high-value corridor while Greece and Bulgaria stayed toward the low end of the stack.
A discount in Serbia left cross-border capacity as a key determinant of value capture relative to surrounding zones including Bulgaria and Greece. The strongest trading opportunities were concentrated around the H10–H15 solar trough and the H19–H22 evening ramp.
Larger spreads were also reported from the southern Balkans toward Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia and Italy where cross-border capacity supported trading between price zones.