Southeast European electricity markets rose sharply for delivery on 27 May 2026, with the regional pricing structure pointing to tighter evening balancing conditions, stronger thermal dispatch and higher import dependence across interconnected systems.
Day-ahead price levels across SEE exchanges
The highest day-ahead prices were recorded again in the eastern Balkans and Serbia-linked trading zones. SEEPEX Serbia closed at EUR 117.11/MWh, while ALPEX Albania reached EUR 116.82/MWh and Hungary’s HUPX settled at EUR 114.74/MWh. Romania’s OPCOM traded at EUR 110.11/MWh, and Bulgaria’s IBEX increased to EUR 106.63/MWh.
The upward move coincided with relatively moderate temperatures across the region, around 23–24°C. The report links the escalation less to weather stress and more to structural balancing dynamics, cross-border flows and evening scarcity pricing.
Cross-border spreads and import flows into Hungary and SEE
A key signal came from the widening spread between Hungary and Germany, which expanded to EUR 30.7/MWh, up by EUR 16/MWh day-on-day. The spread increase aligned with a surge in core imports into the SEE region.
Flows from Austria and Slovakia into Hungary and Southeast Europe climbed to 2,540 MW, up by more than 1,250 MW versus the previous session. During evening hours, the regional system increasingly behaved like a premium import area.
Evening peaks, solar suppression and intraday resilience
Hourly curves across HUPX, SEEPEX, OPCOM, IBEX and HENEX showed synchronized evening peaks approaching or exceeding EUR 230–257/MWh. The highest levels were especially visible during hour 21.
The session also showed midday solar suppression, but it was less extreme than during earlier May negative-price episodes. Compared with deep solar-driven weekend collapses, intraday pricing was described as more resilient.
Serbia’s market minimum price stayed positive at EUR 26.4/MWh, while Hungary bottomed at only EUR 3.6/MWh. The report characterizes this as indicating that regional oversupply conditions have temporarily eased.
Generation mix, net imports and thermal dependence
Total regional generation increased to 27,014 MW, while net imports rose sharply to 1,591 MW. Gas-fired generation rose by 458 MW day-on-day, coal generation increased by 290 MW, and wind output improved to 3,120 MW.
The generation stack showed continued reliance on thermal flexibility despite renewable growth. Hydro accounted for roughly 24%, solar 23%, coal 14%, gas 13%, wind 12%, and nuclear 12%. Imports contributed about 2% of the total balance but were described as important during evening ramp periods.
Bilateral interconnector flows supporting evening balance
Bulgaria continued exporting heavily toward Serbia, averaging approximately 216 MW base flow. Romania-to-Hungary flows exceeded 340 MW.
The report also described Hungary as structurally short, importing heavily from Slovakia and Austria while exporting toward Serbia and Croatia during peak periods. This pattern was presented as part of the broader commercial interconnector signals in regional balancing.
Tightness in Serbia and storage expansion in Bulgaria
SERBIA remained one of the tightest markets in the region.> SEEPEX prices traded above most neighboring exchanges despite cross-border support from Hungary, Bosnia and Bulgaria. The pricing structure was linked to constrained domestic flexibility, thermal fleet limitations and increasing evening exposure tied to rising solar penetration during daylight hours.
Bulgaria’s battery storage build-out was highlighted as beginning to affect wider balancing behavior. Bulgaria operates roughly battery storage capacity of 3,300 MW with more than 8.6 GWh of energy capability, described as one of Europe’s most intensive storage markets relative to system size.
EUA forwards higher alongside week-ahead contract moves
The report said forward markets strengthened, with Hungarian week-ahead contracts rising toward