Interconnectors are becoming one of the most valuable assets in Southeast Europe’s electricity market. Week 23 showed why. Regional net imports increased 9.1% week on week to 1.22 TWh, as higher demand and weaker renewables forced markets to rely more heavily on cross-border balancing.
The movement was broad. Hungary increased net imports 64.7% to 179.75 GWh, Romania raised imports 34.0%, and Croatia increased imports 18.5%. Italy remained the largest net importer, with 950.91 GWh, even though its imports fell 14.1% from the previous week. Greece and Türkiye remained net exporters, although both reduced export volumes.
These flows matter because SEE prices remained fragmented. Italy averaged €128.09/MWh, while Greece averaged €89.25/MWh, Serbia €99.63/MWh, Bulgaria €100.83/MWh, Romania €102.23/MWh, Hungary €103.15/MWh and Croatia €99.29/MWh. Wide spreads create theoretical arbitrage value, but actual value depends on interconnector availability, congestion and scheduling rules.
This makes transmission capacity a financial asset. The ability to move power between price zones can be as valuable as generation itself. Traders who secure capacity across constrained borders can capture spreads. Generators with access to export routes can improve realised prices. Industrial buyers can reduce procurement costs if they can structure cross-border supply.
Italy’s position is the clearest example. It remained the highest-priced SEE market and the largest net importer. Lower-cost Balkan power has value if it can reach Italian or Central European demand centres. But persistent price differences show that interconnection is not sufficient to fully equalise markets.
Hungary’s import increase is also strategically important. As a Central SEE hub linked to Austria, Slovakia, Croatia, Serbia and Romania, Hungary can transmit price signals across several borders. Its €103.15/MWh weekly average kept it in the upper regional cluster, supporting import demand and cross-border trading interest.
Interconnectors also become more important as renewables grow. Wind and solar variability can quickly change a country’s net position. A market with surplus solar at midday may need imports in the evening. A wind-heavy system can move from export to import depending on weather. Cross-border capacity is therefore a flexibility tool, not only a trading instrument.
For TSOs and regulators, Week 23 reinforces the case for grid reinforcement, market coupling, intraday liquidity and transparent capacity allocation. For investors, it shows that generation projects should be assessed together with grid access and export optionality. A project in a constrained node may have lower value than a similar asset with access to liquid cross-border routes.
SEE is not yet one integrated price zone, but it is increasingly one interconnected balancing region. Interconnectors are where that tension becomes visible. As imports rise and price spreads persist, transmission capacity will carry more strategic and financial value.
Elevated by energy.clarion.engineer