Electricity prices across southeastern Europe increased sharply for Monday, October 12, as demand recovered after the weekend and forecast wind generation fell. Serbian prices moved above €230/MWh, while Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria were pushed towards €235/MWh. The changes raised procurement costs for suppliers and industrial buyers.
Forward pricing also reflected expectations for expensive electricity to extend beyond Monday. Hungary’s week 42 contract settled at €244.50/MWh, with week 43 at €244/MWh. These levels were cited alongside the spot market moves across the region.
Day-ahead price moves on SEEPEX, BELEN, IBEX, OPCOM and HUPX
Serbia’s SEEPEX day-ahead average rose by €45.20/MWh to €230.76/MWh. The Serbian figure left it €4.12/MWh below Hungary. Montenegro’s BELEN increased by €43.10/MWh to €208.46/MWh, keeping a discount of €26.42/MWh versus the Hungarian benchmark.
Bulgaria’s IBEX recorded the highest regional average at €235.50/MWh, up €60.30/MWh. Romania’s OPCOM followed at €235.29/MWh, an increase of €59.20/MWh. Hungary’s HUPX rose by €48.80/MWh to €234.88/MWh.
The three markets were separated by less than €1/MWh, limiting the scope for margin differences based only on daily averages. The report indicated that hourly spreads and transmission availability would influence whether cross-border trades remained attractive. Croatia and Slovenia also saw higher prices during the same session.
Prices across additional regional exchanges and contracts
Croatia reached €226.98/MWh, while Slovenia rose to €224.94/MWh, with both markets up by €53.30/MWh. Greece gained €58.90/MWh to reach €218.04/MWh. Albania increased to €222.35/MWh, while North Macedonia remained the lowest in the regional comparison at €198.47/MWh, up by €7.60/MWh.
The supply-demand shift cited in the report involved higher consumption paired with lower wind output forecasts. Forecast average demand across the coverage rose by 3,605 MW to 30,588 MW, about 13.4% above Sunday. Forecast wind generation fell by 2,358 MW to 1,397 MW, a decline of nearly 63%.
Forecast demand, wind and solar changes; net imports and gas costs
The report expected solar output to rise by 1,219 MW to 4,379 MW. Even with that increase, combined wind and solar generation fell by about 1,139 MW. With demand higher as well, it implied around 4,744 MW more supply from other generation or imports compared with Sunday if forecasts held.
Regional net imports increased by only 300 MW to 3,719 MW. Imports through monitored Austria–Slovakia routes into Hungary and Slovenia rose by 395 MW to 3,140 MW. The figures indicated that additional imports alone would not fully cover the change in demand and renewable availability.
The price increase extended beyond Southeast Europe, with Germany’s day-ahead average jumping by