Energy Community monitoring data for the third quarter show combined day-ahead trading volume of 2.97 TWh across organised Western Balkan exchanges. Activity rose 26.7% year on year and 10.2% from the previous quarter, even as scheduled cross-border electricity exchanges between the region and the European Union weakened.
The share of day-ahead traded electricity in regional load reached approximately 23%, compared with 19% in the comparable period of 2025. The figures indicate greater use of organised power exchanges, but do not by themselves demonstrate improved access to the EU market or higher cross-border trading margins.
Electricity can be traded on local exchanges while export deliveries remain constrained by carbon-related costs, transmission availability and cross-border scheduling conditions. Some exports to EU markets have become more difficult economically for those reasons. The commercial value of access to European buyers remains dependent on carbon costs, interconnector conditions and verifiable delivery arrangements.
Greater exchange liquidity can improve price discovery and market access for renewable-energy producers entering merchant power markets. It cannot replace the documentation needed to support eligible actual-emissions treatment under the EU’s electricity Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) rules.
In Serbia, SEEPEX provides organised market access. Traded-volume developments there also need to be assessed alongside export-price differences and the ability to deliver electricity physically across borders.
In Montenegro, rising regional exchange activity coincided with stronger electricity exports to Italy, with market opportunities varying by delivery route and generation portfolio. The figures warrant updates to trading-liquidity assumptions, cross-border margin models, electricity forecasting and renewable power-purchase agreement risk assessments.