Albania has removed the zero-price floor from its day-ahead electricity market, allowing wholesale prices to fall as low as minus €50/MWh during periods of excess supply. The ceiling will remain at €900/MWh.
The decision by the Energy Regulatory Authority represents an important change in the operation of ALPEX, bringing the Albanian bidding zone closer to the pricing mechanics used across integrated European power markets. Until now, bids could not clear below zero even when market conditions justified negative settlement.
Negative prices are becoming increasingly relevant as Albania and neighbouring countries add solar capacity. During high-generation, low-demand hours, producers may have commercial reasons to continue operating despite negative wholesale prices, particularly when they benefit from support schemes, contractual obligations or avoided shutdown costs.
ALPEX said market participants had already attempted to submit negative bids under the previous framework. Between January and 18 April 2026, the market reached the former €0/MWh floor on 13 occasions, but participants did not revise their bids during the second auction phase. The new floor should allow the auction to reveal the real value of oversupplied hours rather than artificially compressing them at zero.
Trading activity on ALPEX is also expanding. Volumes increased by approximately 39 per cent in 2025, while traded electricity in the Albanian bidding zone exceeded 1 million MWh, around 26 per cent more than a year earlier. First-quarter 2026 volumes were almost double those recorded in the same period of 2025.
The reform gives storage operators, flexible consumers and cross-border traders a clearer price signal. It also increases commercial pressure on inflexible generators and renewable projects that lack storage or reliable export capacity. As Albania moves toward deeper regional integration, negative prices will turn curtailment, forecasting quality and intraday portfolio management into increasingly important parts of renewable-project economics.
