Southeast European day-ahead power prices rose sharply for Monday, 2 November, as weekday demand returned. Baseload prices in Bulgaria, Greece, Hungary and Romania all exceeded €309/MWh. The increase was much smaller in Germany, widening its price gap with the eastern markets.
Bulgaria’s IBEX posted the region’s highest baseload price at €317.78/MWh, up €55.8/MWh from Sunday. Greece followed at €312.94/MWh, Hungary at €310.29/MWh and Romania at €309.74/MWh. Germany increased by €3.1/MWh to €259.01/MWh, leaving the Hungary-Germany spread at €51.28/MWh. The Monday rebound was concentrated in central and southeastern Europe rather than matched by a comparable rise across the wider continental market.
Forecast regional electricity consumption averaged 34,232 MW, an increase of 3,441 MW from Sunday. Net imports into the Hungary-SEE system nevertheless fell by 591 MW to 3,844 MW, including a 901 MW decline in imports from the Austria-Slovakia core to 3,024 MW. Imports from Italy, by contrast, rose sharply to 928 MW. Regional power-balance data put generation at roughly 30.4 GW, against 26.4 GW on Sunday, while consumption climbed back above 34 GW; higher regional output met much of the additional demand.
Afternoon and evening hourly prices rose in a synchronised pattern across several interconnected exchanges. The Monday maximum was €396.5/MWh on HUPX, €395.4/MWh in both Romania and Bulgaria, and €394.6/MWh in Greece; Serbia reached €375/MWh and Montenegro €350/MWh. The alignment of those peaks indicated a regional rather than solely national price event. Prices also formed three distinct levels: an eastern core above €309/MWh, a Serbia-Montenegro-North Macedonia corridor around €288-294/MWh, and Albania near €260/MWh.
Hungarian import requirement widens as forward prices remain elevated
Hungary’s average consumption increased from 4,540 MW on Sunday to 5,202 MW, while generation declined from 3,532 MW to around 3,264 MW. Its net import requirement consequently rose from approximately 1,008 MW to 1,938 MW. That change in the domestic power balance accompanied HUPX’s sharp separation from Germany.
In the Hungarian forward market, Week 45 power traded at €327.50/MWh, Week 46 at €333/MWh and November at €304.50/MWh. The November contract was up €11.5/MWh from the previous session, and Week 46 gained €23/MWh. CEGH gas stood at €105.39/MWh, European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) allowances at €89.19/t and November coal at $148/t, maintaining a high thermal generation cost floor.
The renewed separation between Germany and the Hungary-Romania-Bulgaria-Greece corridor was more pronounced than the general post-weekend rise in Southeast European prices. The return of weekday demand, Hungary’s larger import deficit and a Hungary-Germany spread of about €51/MWh were the key signals for the next session. If those conditions persisted, the rally would extend beyond a simple post-weekend demand normalisation.
Serbian prices rise while demand stays nearly flat
Serbia’s SEEPEX baseload price increased by €31.9/MWh to €293.32/MWh. It remained almost €17/MWh below Hungary and around €24/MWh below Bulgaria, so Serbia joined the regional rise without fully converging with the higher-priced eastern markets. SEEPEX peakload reached €331.1/MWh and off-peak power €255.6/MWh.
The Serbian day-ahead minimum was €206/MWh and the maximum was €375/MWh. Its seven-day baseload average stood at €287.7/MWh. Average domestic consumption was about 4,037 MW, virtually unchanged from Sunday’s 4,031 MW, while generation slipped to roughly 2,890 MW from 2,930 MW.
Serbia’s resulting net import requirement rose to approximately 1,148 MW, compared with 1,101 MW a day earlier. With consumption little changed, the SEEPEX increase reflected repricing in surrounding interconnected markets more than a sudden domestic demand increase. Serbia also remained structurally exposed to imported electricity.
Montenegrin generation rises and import deficit narrows
Montenegro’s BELEN baseload price rose €19.4/MWh to €287.55/MWh. That left it about €22.7/MWh below Hungary, €25.4/MWh below Greece and more than €30/MWh below Bulgaria. Peak power reached €310.7/MWh and off-peak power €264.4/MWh, with a daily minimum of €226/MWh and maximum of €350/MWh.
Montenegrin consumption was broadly stable at around 356 MW. Generation rose to approximately 177 MW from 110 MW on Sunday, narrowing the country’s net import position from 245 MW to about 179 MW. The improved physical balance helped maintain Montenegro’s substantial discount to the main eastern Southeast European markets despite the regional price increase.
Albanian baseload falls despite the regional increase
Albania was the principal exception to the regional rise: ALPEX baseload declined by €2.6/MWh to €259.96/MWh. That was around €50/MWh below Hungary and almost €58/MWh below Bulgaria. Albania again stood as the region’s main low-price market, while Serbia and Montenegro remained below the more expensive eastern group.
ALPEX off-peak power fell to €194.4/MWh, and the day’s minimum was €89.5/MWh, although peakload held at €325.5/MWh. The wide range illustrated the fragmentation of Southeast European pricing during the same delivery day, with relatively cheap renewable-heavy markets alongside expensive thermal and import-dependent ones.