Asset-backed trading is reshaping power economics across South-East Europe

Electricity market participants in South-East Europe are increasingly behaving like infrastructure operators—because the economics of trading in a constrained grid reward firms that can lock in access to capacity, not just capture day-to-day price movements. As transmission bottlenecks persist and renewable output adds variability, traders with physical exposure are repositioning their portfolios around capacity rights, storage and structured contracting.

Electricity trading in South-East Europe notes that this evolution is already underway among major players including MET Group, Axpo, EFT (Energy Financing Team), GEN-I, HSE and PPC Trading. Rather than relying solely on timing spreads through frequent repositioning, these companies are combining trading desks with control over assets and pathways—ranging from interconnection access to contract structures designed to monetize both spatial and temporal opportunities.

From corridor spreads to congestion exposure

The traditional arbitrage playbook remains present. Across key routes, traded volumes continue to be shaped by the interaction between available transfer capacity (ATC) and nominal limits. On the Serbia–Hungary border, annual volumes exceed 8–10 TWh, while ATC allocations typically sit at 600–1,000 MW compared with nominal capacity of 1,200–1,500 MW. In normal conditions, price spreads average €5–15/MWh, but can widen to €40–60/MWh during winter stress or gas-driven volatility.

Historically, firms monetised these dynamics through day-ahead and intraday positioning supported by yearly and monthly auctions for capacity. What has changed is how participation scales up—and how strategies increasingly resemble infrastructure ownership: acquiring transport rights is treated not only as securing movement of power but as building portfolios whose value depends on predictable congestion patterns.

A larger footprint for hybrid portfolio builders

The shift toward asset-backed participation shows up in the expanding role of large traders across the region. MET Group, reporting annual electricity trading volumes above 140 TWh across Europe, has broadened its South-East Europe presence through both trading activity and asset-supported approaches that include renewable portfolios and storage investments. Axpo, trading over 300 TWh annually, follows a similar model by pairing market operations with long-term capacity positioning and structured PPA portfolios.

EFT stands out as an established regional participant originating in the Balkans. It handles roughly 10–15 TWh annually in SEE markets, with exposure tied to cross-border flows involving Serbia, Bosnia and Montenegro—illustrating how local knowledge can translate into deeper involvement in regional bottlenecks.

Bulgaria–Greece highlights how congestion becomes cashflow

The monetisation logic is particularly clear on the Bulgaria–Greece corridor. With physical capacity of 1,200–1,500 MW and typical ATC of 700–1,200 MW, annual flows exceed 10 TWh. The direction is driven by Greek demand alongside LNG-linked pricing dynamics.

The scale of potential returns is reflected in stated congestion revenues reaching roughly €150–200 million annually. Firms such as PPC Trading, Axpo and MET have been positioned across this interface using a blend of capacity rights plus generation and balancing tactics intended to capture both spatial spreads along the border constraints and timing differences within power markets.

Batteries extend trading into infrastructure territory

This trend deepens when traders move into storage development rather than treating optimisation purely as a market function. Battery projects across South-East Europe are being developed not only by utilities but also by trader-backed platforms. Greece offers one example: more than

In Greece alone, where more than