Day-ahead electricity prices across Southeast Europe surged on Monday as the market shifted from weekend conditions into a higher-demand trading environment, with stronger consumption, weaker wind generation and rising import requirements pushing prices sharply higher across most regional exchanges.
Hungary recorded the highest day-ahead price in the region at €151.14/MWh, while Slovenia and Croatia followed closely at €145.33/MWh and €143.50/MWh respectively. Serbia’s SEEPEX market settled at €138.00/MWh, up almost €40/MWh from the previous session, while Montenegro’s BELEN market climbed to €134.70/MWh. Greece remained the lowest-priced market at €97.12/MWh, maintaining a discount of more than €50/MWh to Hungary.
The sharp increase marked one of the strongest day-on-day rallies seen across regional markets in recent weeks and reflected a broader tightening of supply-demand balances across Central and Southeast Europe.
Regional electricity demand rose to approximately 26.7 GW, increasing by more than 2.2 GW compared with Sunday as industrial and commercial consumption returned after the weekend. At the same time, regional generation failed to keep pace with demand growth, forcing the system to increase net imports substantially. Total imports rose to 1,359 MW, nearly three times higher than the previous day, while imports from Austria and Slovakia into the wider Southeast European market exceeded 1.1 GW.
Wind generation remained the principal source of market support. Regional wind output fell to just 1.1 GW, accounting for only 5% of total generation. The decline removed one of the lowest-cost sources of electricity from the market and increased reliance on thermal generation and imports during key trading periods. Solar generation remained strong at 5.5 GW, representing approximately 23% of the generation mix, but was insufficient to offset weaker wind conditions during evening hours when prices moved sharply higher.
Hydropower continued to provide the largest contribution to regional generation at approximately 26%, supported by stable Danube river flows. Gas-fired generation accounted for 15% of supply, matching nuclear generation, while coal contributed around 14%.
In Serbia, the return of weekday demand pushed SEEPEX prices significantly above weekend levels. The market recorded a maximum hourly price of €225.10/MWh, while the daily minimum remained firmly positive at €77.10/MWh, highlighting the absence of the negative pricing events increasingly common in Western and Southern European markets. The Serbian market continues to benefit from a diversified generation structure combining thermal generation, hydropower and regional trading opportunities.
Cross-border flow data also reinforced Serbia’s growing role as a regional balancing hub. Significant commercial imports continued from Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Montenegro, supporting domestic consumption and transit activity across the wider Balkan market.
Montenegro followed a similar trajectory, with BELEN prices rising by more than €47/MWh compared with Sunday. The market reached an hourly maximum of €263/MWh, reflecting tighter regional balances during evening peak demand periods. Off-peak prices remained elevated at more than €167/MWh, underlining the growing influence of evening scarcity pricing as solar production declines after sunset.
Across the wider region, Greece remained structurally different from neighbouring markets. Strong solar penetration continued to suppress average prices, although the Greek market also experienced substantial intraday volatility as renewable output fluctuated throughout the day. The spread between Greek and Hungarian prices widened to approximately €54/MWh, creating attractive cross-border trading opportunities where transmission capacity was available.
Forward markets suggested traders remain cautious regarding summer supply conditions. Hungarian Week 23 power futures traded at €116.50/MWh, while July 2026 contracts were assessed at €127/MWh. Meanwhile, EU carbon allowances remained near €80.6/tCO₂, and Austrian gas prices held around €48/MWh, indicating that power market strength is currently being driven more by system fundamentals and renewable variability than by fuel market pressures.
The latest market configuration highlights a growing divergence between Southeast Europe and several Western European markets that continue to experience frequent negative pricing periods. While negative prices remain a recurring feature in solar-heavy systems such as Greece, most Balkan markets entered June with firmly positive minimum prices, strong evening premiums and increasing dependence on imports during periods of weaker renewable generation.
For market participants, the combination of rising weekday demand, subdued wind output and elevated evening scarcity continues to support hydro assets, flexible gas generation, battery storage economics and cross-border trading strategies as the region moves into the summer season.