Wholesale electricity prices in Southeast Europe are moving closer to the lower end of the European market as new renewable capacity and battery storage begin to reshape regional supply.
Prices in Bulgaria and Greece recently traded at around €185–193/MWh, below levels of roughly €225–270/MWh across much of Central Europe. The Balkan markets remained slightly more expensive than Spain and Portugal, where prices were around €178–184/MWh, while Nordic markets continued to occupy the lowest end of the European price range.
The shift is most visible in Greece and Bulgaria. Greece has rapidly expanded wind and solar capacity, while Bulgaria is pairing solar development with one of Southeast Europe’s fastest-growing battery storage portfolios.
Storage is becoming increasingly important as low-priced daytime renewable production creates deeper intraday price swings. Batteries can absorb surplus solar power, reduce curtailment and return electricity to the market during evening demand peaks, when gas-fired and imported power often set higher prices.
However, regional price convergence remains constrained by limited cross-border capacity and fragmented national markets. Large price differences can persist between neighbouring exchanges even when lower-cost electricity is available elsewhere in the region.
Further gains will depend on faster battery deployment in Greece, additional wind development in Bulgaria and greater renewable and storage investment across the Western Balkans. Stronger market coupling and grid reinforcement would also allow cheaper generation to circulate more efficiently.
Southeast Europe is no longer uniformly one of Europe’s most expensive electricity regions. But the ability to maintain that improvement will depend less on adding renewable megawatts alone and more on whether grids, storage and cross-border trading can keep pace.
