Serbia’s SEEPEX day-ahead benchmark fell by €58.94/MWh to €181.02/MWh for Saturday delivery as weekend demand eased. Prices in Romania, Bulgaria and Montenegro stayed above €230/MWh, keeping regional markets split despite lower consumption. North Macedonia and Slovenia also recorded lower levels, with North Macedonia at €192.91/MWh and Slovenia around €203.22/MWh.
Romania’s OPCOM price decreased by €21.32/MWh to €233.88/MWh. Bulgaria remained near €233.40/MWh, while Montenegro rose to €232.04/MWh. The gap between Serbia and Romania widened to almost €53/MWh, even though both markets saw weekend demand fall.
The divergence was linked in the source to supply constraints rather than demand alone. Romania is operating without output from its two Cernavodă nuclear reactors, removing approximately 1.36 GW of firm generation. In Bulgaria, Kozloduy unit 6, rated at about 1 GW, entered scheduled maintenance on October 8, while unit 5 remains exposed to low Danube water levels.
Solar reduces midday imports while evening scarcity remains visible
Romanian operational data showed consumption dropping to about 4.14 GW around midday, with domestic generation reaching 3.73 GW. Solar output contributed roughly 2.05 GW, lowering net imports to around 405 MW. Earlier in the morning, before photovoltaic production increased, Romanian imports exceeded 1.5 GW.
The source also reported that Romanian day-ahead prices ranged from around €138/MWh to €342/MWh. This range indicated that reduced midday import needs did not eliminate evening scarcity conditions. Serbia showed a similarly wide hourly spread from approximately €132/MWh to €300/MWh.
Bulgaria and Montenegro reached around €336/MWh and €330/MWh, respectively, according to the same session data. The movements were described as supporting the commercial case for batteries, pumped hydro and flexible generation even as weekend demand reduces average prices.
Turkey prices stay lower but cross-border transfer limits persist
Together with the Balkan price spread, Turkey’s day-ahead electricity averaged approximately €56/MWh. This left Turkey around €177/MWh below Bulgaria, according to the source figures. Italy remained near €220/MWh, while Austria increased to about €207/MWh.
The source attributed the persistence of the Turkey-to-Bulgaria gap to limitations in existing cross-border transmission capacity. It stated that additional low-cost electricity near Southeast Europe cannot fully reach higher-priced markets because restricted transfer capability prevents price differences from being eliminated.
The session was also framed around trading and financing implications tied to country-specific pricing outcomes under constrained flows. A supplier hedging against Serbian or German power prices could still face procurement exposure in Romania or Bulgaria when transmission constraints prevent price convergence. For lenders, the same conditions were linked to higher value for projects offering dispatchable capacity, storage and secure grid access.
The source further noted that Saturday’s price correction reflected how lower demand can reduce prices where supply is adequate. It also said Romania and Bulgaria remain exposed to a more persistent issue tied to the loss of firm generation that neighbouring electricity markets cannot fully replace.