Serbia’s power exchange SEEPEX began allowing negative electricity prices for delivery from 6 May 2026, adding a new signal for flexibility. The change coincided with scarcity-period prices that could exceed EUR 300/MWh, broadening the range of market outcomes for generators and investors.
The first negative day-ahead clearing price was recorded on 10 May 2026 for the 14:00–15:00 delivery hour: -EUR 0.01/MWh, with 673.4 MWh traded. Later that month, the first negative intraday trades covered one delivery hour and had a volume-weighted average price of -EUR 8.83/MWh.
Negative and scarcity prices shape the storage case
SEEPEX also recorded high prices in autumn. On 30 October 2026, baseload reached EUR 303.29/MWh and peakload stood at EUR 331.30/MWh. October trading volumes exceeded half a terawatt-hour as the contrasting price signals coincided with substantial market activity.
Spring surplus periods and autumn scarcity strengthened the case for storage investment, extending its role beyond support for renewable generation. Negative-price hours can create opportunities for flexible charging, but they remain limited and unpredictable; buying electricity only during those hours is not a durable commercial strategy.
Storage can manage a portfolio across day-ahead, intraday and balancing markets, with batteries able to respond when prices diverge from the central forecast. Negative prices also increase capture-price risk for fixed-output renewable projects. A co-located or contracted battery can protect against some of that downside, while Serbia’s first year of negative prices strengthens the investment case for storage and raises the analytical standard for renewable projects financed without it.