Romania’s OPCOM April 2026 power market: day-ahead prices rise, intraday volumes and prices ease

Romania’s power trading picture in April 2026 was defined by a split between the day-ahead market and shorter-term intraday activity. While the average day-ahead price increased year-on-year, intraday trading saw a pronounced slowdown and a substantial easing in pricing—signals that investors tracking near-term risk had less price pressure than in March.

Day-ahead: higher prices, weaker month-on-month demand

On OPCOM’s day-ahead market, the average electricity price reached €95.55/MWh in April 2026. That represented a 10.55% increase versus April 2025, but it fell 9.13% compared with March 2026, when the average baseload price was €105.15/MWh.

Trading volumes reflected a softer market tone. Total day-ahead volume amounted to 1.14 million MWh, down 1.28% year-on-year and down 15.97% from March 2026. Average hourly traded volume was 1,582.4 MWh/h, indicating reduced short-term turnover compared with the previous month.

In value terms, transactions totaled €115.1 million in April—up 7.72% from April 2025 (€106.8 million). However, the figure declined sharply versus March 2026 (€148.1 million), falling 22.32%, consistent with lower month-on-month prices and volume.

Participation relative to system demand remained steady: the day-ahead market accounted for 31.66% of forecasted net consumption in April 2026.

Intraday: volumes drop and prices fall materially

Intraday conditions moved in the opposite direction from March’s tighter pricing environment. A total of 147,579.2 MWh was traded on the intraday market in April, down 29.28% year-on-year and down 6.65% month-on-month.

The average intraday price was €56.18/MWh, which was 20.49% lower than April 2025 and 36.17% below March 2026. The combination of lower volumes and a significantly reduced price level suggests less urgency in short-term balancing needs and greater downward volatility during intraday trading.

Taken together, April’s data point to a Romanian market where longer-horizon pricing remained supported on a yearly basis, but near-term trading activity weakened and price pressure eased—an important distinction for participants managing exposure across different timeframes.