Price Gaps Between Neighbouring Electricity Zones, to 2026-11-13 (13 November 2026)
Across 78 pairs of neighbouring European bidding zones, the widest average day-ahead price gap was EUR 150.43/MWh between Sweden North-Central (SE2) and Sweden South-Central (SE3), and prices were identical in 15% of all compared hours, over 5 to 13 November 2026.
Day-ahead wholesale prices from ENTSO-E in EUR/MWh, compared hour by hour for 78 pairs of zones that share a border. The window is short, 5 to 13 November 2026, and a gap here is an indicator of a constrained interconnector, not proof of congestion.
Key Facts
- Across 78 pairs of neighbouring European bidding zones, the widest average day-ahead price gap was EUR 150.43/MWh between Sweden North-Central (SE2) and Sweden South-Central (SE3), and prices were identical in 15% of all compared hours, over 5 to 13 November 2026.
- Sweden North-Central (SE2) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) had the widest average gap, EUR 150.43/MWh over 199 compared hours, with Sweden North-Central (SE2) cheaper in 100% of hours.
- Italy Centre-North and Italy North had the narrowest average gap, EUR 0.00/MWh, with identical prices in 100% of 199 compared hours.
- Norway Central (NO3) and Norway North (NO4) had the most hours more than EUR 20.00/MWh apart, 100% of 199 compared hours. This is an indicator of constrained interconnectors, not proof of congestion.
- 1 of 78 pairs had the same price in at least 99.5% of hours.
The 10 Widest Gaps
Mean absolute hourly gap, EUR/MWh| Sweden North-Central (SE2) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | |
|---|---|
| Estonia and Finland | |
| Finland and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | |
| Norway Central (NO3) and Norway North (NO4) | |
| Sweden South-Central (SE3) and Sweden South (SE4) | |
| Norway Central (NO3) and Sweden North-Central (SE2) | |
| Estonia and Latvia | |
| Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | |
| Norway Central (NO3) and Norway West (NO5) | |
| Lithuania and Poland |
The widest gap was Sweden North-Central (SE2) and Sweden South-Central (SE3), EUR 150.43/MWh on average over 199 compared hours. Bars show the average of the absolute difference between the two zones' hourly prices, so a pair that swaps which side is dearer still registers its full gap.
All 78 Neighbouring Pairs
Widest average gap first, hourly prices to 2026-11-13| # | Zone pair | Average gap (EUR/MWh) | Identical hours | Hours more than 20 EUR/MWh apart | Usually cheaper | Hours compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sweden North-Central (SE2) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 150.43 | 0% | 100% | Sweden North-Central (SE2), 100% of hours | 199 |
| 2 | Estonia and Finland | 133.96 | 0% | 86% | Finland, 100% of hours | 199 |
| 3 | Finland and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 125.77 | 0% | 98% | Finland, 98% of hours | 199 |
| 4 | Norway Central (NO3) and Norway North (NO4) | 109.29 | 0% | 100% | Norway North (NO4), 100% of hours | 199 |
| 5 | Sweden South-Central (SE3) and Sweden South (SE4) | 99.46 | 0% | 98% | Sweden South-Central (SE3), 100% of hours | 199 |
| 6 | Norway Central (NO3) and Sweden North-Central (SE2) | 87.74 | 0% | 100% | Sweden North-Central (SE2), 100% of hours | 199 |
| 7 | Estonia and Latvia | 83.86 | 28% | 65% | Estonia, 72% of hours | 199 |
| 8 | Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 80.28 | 0% | 91% | Sweden South-Central (SE3), 99% of hours | 199 |
| 9 | Norway Central (NO3) and Norway West (NO5) | 79.50 | 0% | 94% | Norway Central (NO3), 98% of hours | 199 |
| 10 | Lithuania and Poland | 77.60 | 1% | 74% | Poland, 66% of hours | 199 |
| 11 | Norway South-East (NO1) and Norway Central (NO3) | 77.08 | 0% | 94% | Norway Central (NO3), 98% of hours | 199 |
| 12 | Spain and France | 69.95 | 11% | 73% | Spain, 88% of hours | 151 |
| 13 | Germany and Luxembourg and Poland | 68.96 | 4% | 63% | Poland, 51% of hours | 199 |
| 14 | Albania and Greece | 67.06 | 0% | 75% | Greece, 73% of hours | 199 |
| 15 | Poland and Sweden South (SE4) | 66.27 | 0% | 70% | Poland, 60% of hours | 199 |
| 16 | Czechia and Poland | 59.67 | 4% | 64% | Poland, 57% of hours | 199 |
| 17 | Poland and Slovakia | 58.76 | 4% | 71% | Poland, 65% of hours | 199 |
| 18 | Netherlands and Norway South-West (NO2) | 56.87 | 0% | 85% | Norway South-West (NO2), 97% of hours | 199 |
| 19 | Germany and Luxembourg and Norway South-West (NO2) | 56.53 | 0% | 82% | Norway South-West (NO2), 93% of hours | 199 |
| 20 | Denmark West (DK1) and Norway South-West (NO2) | 55.77 | 0% | 76% | Norway South-West (NO2), 88% of hours | 199 |
| 21 | Greece and North Macedonia | 54.62 | 0% | 66% | Greece, 75% of hours | 199 |
| 22 | Finland and Norway North (NO4) | 50.81 | 0% | 33% | Norway North (NO4), 61% of hours | 199 |
| 23 | Norway South-East (NO1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 45.63 | 0% | 82% | Sweden South-Central (SE3), 62% of hours | 199 |
| 24 | Bulgaria and Greece | 41.41 | 52% | 32% | Greece, 48% of hours | 199 |
| 25 | Albania and Montenegro | 39.66 | 1% | 63% | Albania, 53% of hours | 199 |
| 26 | Italy North and Slovenia | 33.31 | 12% | 51% | Italy North, 70% of hours | 199 |
| 27 | Switzerland and Germany and Luxembourg | 32.85 | 0% | 47% | Germany and Luxembourg, 64% of hours | 199 |
| 28 | Austria and Germany and Luxembourg | 30.51 | 16% | 49% | Germany and Luxembourg, 78% of hours | 199 |
| 29 | Norway North (NO4) and Sweden North-Central (SE2) | 30.32 | 0% | 23% | Norway North (NO4), 50% of hours | 199 |
| 30 | Austria and Italy North | 29.59 | 14% | 43% | Italy North, 73% of hours | 199 |
| 31 | Bulgaria and Serbia | 28.38 | 0% | 52% | Serbia, 52% of hours | 199 |
| 32 | Lithuania and Sweden South (SE4) | 28.14 | 0% | 48% | Sweden South (SE4), 82% of hours | 199 |
| 33 | Bulgaria and North Macedonia | 28.14 | 0% | 55% | Bulgaria, 57% of hours | 199 |
| 34 | Austria and Switzerland | 27.72 | 0% | 41% | Switzerland, 62% of hours | 199 |
| 35 | Romania and Serbia | 27.14 | 0% | 49% | Serbia, 55% of hours | 199 |
| 36 | Finland and Sweden North (SE1) | 27.05 | 0% | 26% | Sweden North (SE1), 75% of hours | 199 |
| 37 | Switzerland and France | 25.89 | 0% | 44% | France, 73% of hours | 199 |
| 38 | Hungary and Serbia | 25.30 | 0% | 49% | Serbia, 51% of hours | 199 |
| 39 | Norway North (NO4) and Sweden North (SE1) | 24.41 | 0% | 22% | Norway North (NO4), 55% of hours | 199 |
| 40 | Germany and Luxembourg and Sweden South (SE4) | 23.27 | 0% | 38% | Germany and Luxembourg, 79% of hours | 199 |
| 41 | Croatia and Serbia | 22.42 | 0% | 42% | Croatia, 55% of hours | 199 |
| 42 | Germany and Luxembourg and France | 22.29 | 16% | 30% | Germany and Luxembourg, 54% of hours | 199 |
| 43 | Czechia and Germany and Luxembourg | 21.73 | 16% | 31% | Germany and Luxembourg, 69% of hours | 199 |
| 44 | Italy Centre-South and Italy Sardinia | 21.68 | 73% | 16% | Italy Sardinia, 27% of hours | 199 |
| 45 | Czechia and Slovakia | 19.55 | 16% | 31% | Czechia, 71% of hours | 199 |
| 46 | North Macedonia and Serbia | 17.33 | 1% | 37% | Serbia, 65% of hours | 199 |
| 47 | France and Italy North | 17.09 | 48% | 27% | France, 46% of hours | 199 |
| 48 | Austria and Czechia | 16.20 | 16% | 29% | Czechia, 56% of hours | 199 |
| 49 | Norway South-East (NO1) and Norway South-West (NO2) | 15.85 | 0% | 31% | Norway South-East (NO1), 89% of hours | 199 |
| 50 | Switzerland and Italy North | 15.11 | 0% | 22% | Italy North, 58% of hours | 199 |
| 51 | Montenegro and Serbia | 15.03 | 2% | 27% | Serbia, 64% of hours | 199 |
| 52 | Germany and Luxembourg and Denmark East (DK2) | 14.76 | 0% | 23% | Germany and Luxembourg, 72% of hours | 199 |
| 53 | Austria and Hungary | 14.74 | 16% | 25% | Austria, 47% of hours | 199 |
| 54 | Belgium and Germany and Luxembourg | 14.32 | 16% | 27% | Germany and Luxembourg, 49% of hours | 199 |
| 55 | Lithuania and Latvia | 13.59 | 79% | 17% | Latvia, 21% of hours | 199 |
| 56 | Norway South-West (NO2) and Norway West (NO5) | 13.59 | 0% | 28% | Norway West (NO5), 90% of hours | 199 |
| 57 | Italy Centre-South and Italy South | 13.51 | 82% | 12% | Italy South, 18% of hours | 199 |
| 58 | Denmark West (DK1) and Netherlands | 13.17 | 14% | 20% | Netherlands, 50% of hours | 199 |
| 59 | Denmark West (DK1) and Denmark East (DK2) | 13.16 | 0% | 24% | Denmark West (DK1), 90% of hours | 199 |
| 60 | Italy Centre-North and Italy Centre-South | 12.74 | 79% | 13% | Italy Centre-South, 21% of hours | 199 |
| 61 | Italy Calabria and Italy South | 12.43 | 77% | 14% | Italy South, 13% of hours | 199 |
| 62 | Belgium and France | 12.28 | 16% | 18% | France, 43% of hours | 199 |
| 63 | Germany and Luxembourg and Netherlands | 10.19 | 16% | 16% | Netherlands, 45% of hours | 199 |
| 64 | Hungary and Slovenia | 9.58 | 16% | 16% | Slovenia, 52% of hours | 199 |
| 65 | Denmark East (DK2) and Sweden South (SE4) | 9.22 | 0% | 8% | Denmark East (DK2), 93% of hours | 199 |
| 66 | Hungary and Slovakia | 8.36 | 17% | 13% | Level | 199 |
| 67 | Austria and Slovenia | 7.77 | 16% | 8% | Slovenia, 43% of hours | 199 |
| 68 | Croatia and Hungary | 7.60 | 16% | 9% | Croatia, 51% of hours | 199 |
| 69 | Sweden North (SE1) and Sweden North-Central (SE2) | 7.50 | 0% | 6% | Sweden North-Central (SE2), 51% of hours | 199 |
| 70 | Belgium and Netherlands | 6.53 | 16% | 10% | Netherlands, 52% of hours | 199 |
| 71 | Bulgaria and Romania | 6.25 | 19% | 9% | Bulgaria, 69% of hours | 199 |
| 72 | Germany and Luxembourg and Denmark West (DK1) | 5.85 | 12% | 11% | Denmark West (DK1), 54% of hours | 199 |
| 73 | Hungary and Romania | 5.65 | 16% | 9% | Romania, 48% of hours | 199 |
| 74 | Norway South-East (NO1) and Norway West (NO5) | 3.45 | 0% | 0% | Norway South-East (NO1), 82% of hours | 199 |
| 75 | Croatia and Slovenia | 2.57 | 16% | 0% | Slovenia, 54% of hours | 199 |
| 76 | Spain and Portugal | 2.48 | 89% | 5% | Spain, 11% of hours | 151 |
| 77 | Italy Calabria and Italy Sicily | 0.11 | 99% | 1% | Italy Sicily, 1% of hours | 199 |
| 78 | Italy Centre-North and Italy North | 0.00 | 100% | 0% | Same price | 199 |
Identical hours are hours where the two zones' hourly average prices match to the cent. Usually cheaper is the zone with the lower price in more hours, with the share of all compared hours after the name; the rest are hours where the other side was cheaper or the prices were identical. Pairs that share the same price in at least 99.5% of hours read Same price.
Source: ENTSO-E Transparency Platform (transparency.entsoe.eu), CC BY 4.0. Aggregated and converted by World Power Monitor; ENTSO-E does not endorse this site. (ENTSO-E Terms of Use plus CC BY 4.0 for listed data items) Data as of 2026-11-13. Gaps are computed by World Power Monitor from ENTSO-E day-ahead market intervals. Neighbours come from the ENTSO-E physical cross-border flows file.
How These Gaps Are Measured, and What They Do Not Show
- Neighbours: a pair counts when ENTSO-E's physical cross-border flows file (13 October to 11 November 2026, 88 borders) records flow across the border and both zones have day-ahead prices in euros. The list is derived from that file, so a border with no recorded flow, or with a zone that has no prices, is not here.
- Hours: each zone's market intervals (15 or 60 minutes) are averaged to the clock hour, and only hours where both zones have a full hour of prices are compared. A pair needs at least 48 such hours. The window is 5 to 13 November 2026, so these are at most 199 hours of prices, not a season or a year, and the newest hours can be a delivery day whose prices were published the day before.
- Identical prices are what a fully converged market coupling looks like, but a pair can also match by coincidence, and zones at the edge of the coupled area can differ for reasons other than a congested line.
- A share of hours more than EUR 20.00/MWh apart is a rough indicator that something limited trade between the two zones, for example a full interconnector. It is not proof of congestion: this page uses no capacity, flow limit or congestion rent data, and a wide gap can also come from zones being outside the same coupled market.
- Prices are day-ahead wholesale prices in EUR, not household prices and not converted. Zones priced in another currency are left out.
Price Gaps Between Zones: Questions and Answers
Why do neighbouring countries have different electricity prices?
Day-ahead prices are set separately for each bidding zone. Neighbouring zones share a price when the power lines between them have room to carry the trade the market wants, and split when they do not. In the window analysed, 5 to 13 November 2026, Sweden North-Central (SE2) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) were EUR 150.43/MWh apart on average, the widest of 78 pairs.
What does it mean when two zones have an identical price?
It means the two zones cleared at the same price in that hour, which happens when the market coupling algorithm did not need to limit trade between them. This page counts hours where the two hourly averages match to the cent.
Does a price gap prove an interconnector is congested?
No. A gap above EUR 20.00/MWh in many hours, as for Norway Central (NO3) and Norway North (NO4) at 100% of hours, is consistent with a constrained line, but day-ahead prices also differ where the zones are not fully coupled, and this page does not use capacity or congestion data.
How are neighbouring zones chosen?
A pair counts as neighbouring when ENTSO-E reports measured physical flows across the border between the two zones in the cross-border flows data, and both zones have day-ahead prices in euros. Pairs without both prices are left out.
Is this the price I pay or the price traders get?
Neither exactly. These are day-ahead wholesale prices, the market result for each hour of the following day. Household bills add network charges, taxes and supplier margins, and traders also use later markets.
Related
Cite this page
World Power Monitor. (2026). Electricity Price Gaps Between Neighbouring Zones. https://worldpowermonitor.com/prices/spreads/
World Power Monitor. Electricity Price Gaps Between Neighbouring Zones. Data as of 2026-11-13. Data from ENTSO-E Transparency Platform. https://worldpowermonitor.com/prices/spreads/
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