Italy remained Southeast Europe’s highest-priced power market in the week to 20 September, with a day-ahead average of €215.82/MWh. The figure was up 2.51% on the week and stood about €60/MWh above Greece and €34/MWh above Hungary. Despite lower consumption and net imports, the price level continued to support an import signal.
In the markets covered, Italy was the largest net importer at 926.37 GWh, although its import volume declined by 17.77%. Electricity demand fell by 9.21% to 5,391.13 GWh, representing the largest absolute reduction among the countries in the report. Italian gas-fired generation also decreased by 10.86%, contributing to an 8.87% decline in total thermal output.
Price levels versus cross-border flows
The combination of higher prices and reduced import volumes highlighted the need to test regional price comparisons against physical delivery conditions. A neighbouring producer may face an attractive Italian price, but the deliverable volume depends on interconnector availability and hourly market conditions. Domestic needs in the exporting country also affect how much can be supplied into Italy.
Italy’s premium remained substantial during a week marked by weaker demand. For Southeast European exporters, access to the Italian market remained commercially valuable while realised trading margins were settled at the border and hour of delivery.