Hydropower generation across Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, North Macedonia, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece has hovered around an estimated 70 terawatt-hours per year in 2023 and 2024. Variations have depended on rainfall, snowmelt and reservoir management. The output is concentrated among a limited number of large utilities and a handful of national river basins, making hydrology a key variable for regional power economics.
Serbia’s EPS: hydro volumes, imports and Djerdap 1
Serbia’s EPS illustrates how hydrology affects both generation and financial outcomes. After drought conditions in 2022, the hydro fleet generated 12.7 TWh in 2023, up 41.3% year-on-year. Hydro covered 36.5% of EPS’s total generation, while total production reached a record 35.5 TWh. EPS shifted from heavy losses to net profit of nearly one billion euros.
In 2024, weaker water conditions reduced EPS output to 32.9 TWh. The corporate result normalised as Serbia’s electricity imports rose by about 15%. The Danube’s Djerdap 1 station, with installed capacity of 1,140 MW, exceeded its full-year 2024 production target by early December, producing 5.42 TWh by 1 December.
The generation from the Djerdap complex is described as roughly equivalent to about one-third of Montenegro’s annual electricity production in a normal year. The gross margin on those megawatt-hours is linked to financing EPS capital expenditure and cushioning volatile coal and import costs.
Montenegro’s EPCG: hydro shortfalls and profit compression
Montenegro’s EPCG shows a similar pattern tied to water availability. In 2023, EPCG plants generated 3.50 TWh, with large hydropower accounting for about 56%. The remaining generation came mainly from the Pljevlja coal plant, and the year was wet and profitable.
In 2024 the balance changed as HPP Perućica produced 855 GWh, meeting 93% of its plan, and HPP Piva delivered 746 GWh, close to target. An unprecedented drought across the wider system reduced overall hydro volumes and led EPCG to meet demand with higher-cost imports. Primary electricity production fell to 2.1 TWh, while imports rose to 5.95 TWh.
EPCG exports reached 6.11 TWh, routed through trading operations, but net profit fell from more than fifty million euros in 2023 to barely ten million euros in 2024. By mid-2025, the utility had slipped into a year-to-date loss. For investors, hydrological risk is presented as the main driver of earnings volatility affecting debt service capacity and dividend potential.
Bosnia: EPBiH losses in low inflows and May 2025 rebound
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s hydropower position is described as strong on paper but volatile in practice. In 2023, the transmission-connected hydro fleet produced 6.20 TWh, representing 42% of the 14.9 TWh generated on the high-voltage grid. Including distribution-connected plants, total national generation was about 17.2 TWh, with hydro contributing roughly 6.8 TWh, or 39%.
The hydro share combined with lignite-based output made Bosnia one of the larger net exporters in the Western Balkans, with export revenues of several hundred million euros reported for 2022 and 2023. When water conditions deteriorate, results can change quickly. In 2023, weaker inflows and coal supply problems contributed to EPBiH recording a record loss of around 169 million euros, despite solid average prices.
A contrasting data point followed in May 2025 when favourable water conditions saw renewable generation led by hydro rise by 75% year-on-year. The source links this swing between under-performance and windfall to investor expectations for higher return premia given rainfall sensitivity.
Albania’s hydrology dependence: output drop and investment slowdown
Hydropower is described as dominant in Albania, characterised as a large pure-play system for hydropower generation. In 2023, hydro plants produced between 8.5 TWh and 8.7 TWh, around 98% of total domestic electricity output. This level left Albania almost fully dependent on water flows for both domestic supply and its export-import balance.
The following year showed a contraction as hydro output fell back to 7.33 TWh, down by 16%. The drop tightened import needs and reduced potential export revenues in 2024.
The investment picture also shifted: clean-energy investment focused on hydro and solar fell from about $204 million in 2023