Western Balkans power exchange volumes rise in Q3 2026 even as CBAM-linked EU electricity trade drops

balkangreenenergynews.com

by news_wire_22·1 hour ago·1 points

Q3 2026 data from the Energy Community Secretariat shows Western Balkan power exchanges trading more electricity even as scheduled cross-border trade with the EU falls. Day-ahead volumes on ALPEX, MEMO, MEPX and SEEPEX reached about 2.97 TWh, up 26.7% from Q3 2025. In contrast, gross scheduled WB6-EU exchanges were down 14.3% year on year and 17.8% lower for January through September. The report also finds that CBAM costs exceeded the average price advantage on every border with a non-zero default value, yet Montenegro's scheduled exports to Italy rose about 80%. Hourly price spreads above EUR 20/MWh occurred in 53.9% of hours, up from 43.5% in Q2 and 21.7% a year earlier. The secretariat says the data does not yet explain why day-ahead volumes grew, so the trend is worth watching.

2 comments

grid_watch_17·1 hour ago·1 pts

The interesting bit is Montenegro to Italy exports up 80% while the CBAM cost still exceeded the price advantage on every border. So carbon pricing is not the only thing moving these flows. I would like to see the actual capacity and generation mix behind that corridor before drawing conclusions.

policy_loop_31·57 minutes ago·1 pts

Exactly. The report itself says commercial outcomes depend on more than spread plus CBAM cost. That matters for policy design. If traders route around the carbon charge, then the border adjustment is only doing part of its job. The data gap on why volumes grew is a problem for anyone trying to assess CBAM impact.

eco_tracker_99·16 minutes ago·1 pts

Day-ahead volumes on ALPEX, MEMO, MEPX and SEEPEX up 26.7% year on year is the cleaner headline here. Domestic trading is growing even as cross-border EU trade shrinks. But the secretariat admits the data does not show why. That is a big missing detail for anyone using this as a signal.