How Solar Pulls Midday Electricity Prices Down in Europe, to 2026-10-11 (11 October 2026)
In 40 of 45 European bidding zones, the average day-ahead price at midday (11:00 to 15:00 local) was more than 20% below the evening peak (18:00 to 21:00), over 5 to 8 days of complete local days, 4 to 11 October 2026. Greece had the biggest gap: midday averaged EUR 3.19/MWh against EUR 268.77/MWh in the evening.
Day-ahead wholesale prices from ENTSO-E in EUR/MWh, by local clock hour. The window is short: 5 to 8 days of complete local days, 4 to 11 October 2026. This page compares prices by time of day and does not measure solar output.
Key Facts
- In 40 of 45 European bidding zones, the average day-ahead price at midday (11:00 to 15:00 local) was more than 20% below the evening peak (18:00 to 21:00), over 5 to 8 days of complete local days, 4 to 11 October 2026. Greece had the biggest gap: midday averaged EUR 3.19/MWh against EUR 268.77/MWh in the evening.
- 40 of 45 zones had a midday average more than 20% below the evening average, over 4 to 11 October 2026.
- Greece had the lowest midday to evening ratio, 1%: EUR 3.19/MWh at midday and EUR 268.77/MWh in the evening.
- Sweden North-Central (SE2) had the highest ratio, 125%: EUR 34.10/MWh at midday and EUR 27.36/MWh in the evening.
- 3 of 45 zones had a midday average above the evening average.
- This page compares prices by time of day. It does not measure solar output, so the pattern is consistent with solar generation but is not a measured solar effect.
The 10 Strongest Midday Discounts
Midday below the evening peak, percent| Greece | |
|---|---|
| North Macedonia | |
| Sweden South (SE4) | |
| Portugal | |
| Serbia | |
| Spain | |
| France | |
| Poland | |
| Hungary | |
| Germany and Luxembourg |
Each bar is how far the average price from 11:00 to 15:00 sat below the average from 18:00 to 21:00, as a share of the evening average. Greece had the biggest gap (3.19 at midday against 268.77 in the evening, EUR/MWh) and Germany and Luxembourg the tenth. A value above 100% means midday averaged below zero.
Midday Against Evening by Bidding Zone
Strongest effect first, 45 zones, data to 2026-10-11| # | Bidding zone | Midday 11:00 to 15:00 (EUR/MWh) | Evening 18:00 to 21:00 (EUR/MWh) | Midday as share of evening | Midday more than 20% cheaper | Days | Window |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greece | 3.19 | 268.77 | 1% | Yes | 6 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-09 |
| 2 | North Macedonia | 70.35 | 257.46 | 27% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 3 | Sweden South (SE4) | 53.03 | 176.41 | 30% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 4 | Portugal | 71.38 | 224.44 | 32% | Yes | 7 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-10 |
| 5 | Serbia | 94.59 | 290.07 | 33% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 6 | Spain | 67.30 | 205.57 | 33% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 7 | France | 71.02 | 216.44 | 33% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 8 | Poland | 70.50 | 206.69 | 34% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 9 | Hungary | 102.91 | 299.84 | 34% | Yes | 7 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 10 | Germany and Luxembourg | 77.49 | 219.41 | 35% | Yes | 7 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 11 | Slovakia | 96.74 | 265.92 | 36% | Yes | 7 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 12 | Belgium | 82.10 | 220.82 | 37% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 13 | Denmark East (DK2) | 76.45 | 204.89 | 37% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 14 | Denmark West (DK1) | 77.09 | 202.18 | 38% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 15 | Netherlands | 87.92 | 227.10 | 39% | Yes | 7 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 16 | Romania | 117.85 | 302.85 | 39% | Yes | 6 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-09 |
| 17 | Croatia | 109.41 | 271.92 | 40% | Yes | 7 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 18 | Czechia | 86.40 | 211.08 | 41% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 19 | Bulgaria | 115.08 | 265.56 | 43% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 20 | Kosovo | 145.48 | 327.12 | 44% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 21 | Estonia | 38.13 | 84.50 | 45% | Yes | 5 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-08 |
| 22 | Slovenia | 118.73 | 259.87 | 46% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 23 | Italy Sardinia | 118.35 | 254.01 | 47% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 24 | Albania | 144.08 | 308.62 | 47% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 25 | Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 42.98 | 90.56 | 47% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 26 | Latvia | 65.31 | 136.72 | 48% | Yes | 5 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-08 |
| 27 | Montenegro | 131.28 | 271.71 | 48% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 28 | Italy Sicily | 129.86 | 266.85 | 49% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 29 | Lithuania | 68.67 | 138.79 | 49% | Yes | 5 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-08 |
| 30 | Italy Calabria | 129.86 | 255.17 | 51% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 31 | Italy South | 129.86 | 255.17 | 51% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 32 | Austria | 131.08 | 247.28 | 53% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 33 | Ireland and Northern Ireland (SEM) | 134.53 | 230.58 | 58% | Yes | 7 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-10 |
| 34 | Italy Centre-South | 161.18 | 255.17 | 63% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 35 | Norway South-West (NO2) | 104.29 | 158.74 | 66% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 36 | Switzerland | 157.84 | 238.65 | 66% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 37 | Norway South-East (NO1) | 101.62 | 147.14 | 69% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 38 | Italy Centre-North | 176.54 | 255.17 | 69% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 39 | Italy North | 176.54 | 255.17 | 69% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 40 | Norway West (NO5) | 101.05 | 128.12 | 79% | Yes | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 41 | Finland | 35.14 | 40.80 | 86% | No | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 42 | Norway Central (NO3) | 74.92 | 84.29 | 89% | No | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 43 | Norway North (NO4) | 29.29 | 26.12 | 112% | No | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 44 | Sweden North (SE1) | 32.01 | 27.41 | 117% | No | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
| 45 | Sweden North-Central (SE2) | 34.10 | 27.36 | 125% | No | 8 | 2026-10-04 to 2026-10-11 |
Midday is the average of the four hours starting 11:00, 12:00, 13:00 and 14:00 local time; the evening peak is the average of the three hours starting 18:00, 19:00 and 20:00. Both are averages of the zone's hourly average prices over its whole local days in the window. A share below 100% means midday was cheaper than the evening: 40 of 45 zones were more than 20% cheaper (a share under 80%), and 3 zones were dearer at midday. Ukraine (IPS) is priced in another currency and left out.
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 2026-10-11. Averages are computed by World Power Monitor from ENTSO-E day-ahead market intervals. No solar or capacity figures are used on this page.
What This Does and Does Not Show
- Solar output peaks around midday, so a cheaper midday is what solar generation would be expected to leave in the price. But this page compares prices at two times of day. It does not use solar output, so it cannot say how much of any gap is due to solar. Demand, wind, hydro, imports and fuel costs also differ between midday and the evening.
- The window is 5 to 8 days of complete local days, 4 to 11 October 2026. It is the intraday price history in the site's data, so the figures describe one stretch of the calendar and are not a yearly average. Sunshine hours and demand change through the year, so another season can give a different ratio and a different count.
- Each zone uses its own whole local days, shown in the table. A day with any missing interval is skipped. Averages mix weekdays and weekends.
- These are day-ahead wholesale prices, set the day before delivery, not what a household pays. Prices are in EUR as published and are not converted.
- The 20% line is a simple threshold chosen for this page, not a standard. Zones close to it can switch sides from one window to the next.
Solar and Midday Prices: Questions and Answers
Does solar power make electricity cheaper at midday?
The prices are consistent with that. From 4 to 11 October 2026, the average day-ahead price at midday (11:00 to 15:00) was more than 20% below the evening peak (18:00 to 21:00) in 40 of 45 zones. This page compares prices only, so it does not prove how much of the gap is due to solar: demand, wind and imports also differ between those hours.
Which European zone has the biggest midday price drop?
Greece: midday averaged EUR 3.19/MWh and the evening peak EUR 268.77/MWh, a midday price of 1% of the evening price.
Why are evening prices higher than midday prices?
Demand is still high after sunset while solar output has gone, so the market has to use more expensive plants, imports or storage. The data here shows that the evening is dearer in most zones; it does not break down which plants set the price.
Will midday always be cheaper than the evening?
No. This page covers 5 to 8 days of complete local days, 4 to 11 October 2026. Sunshine, wind, demand and fuel prices change from day to day and through the seasons, and 5 of 45 zones did not clear the 20% line in this window.
Is this what my household pays?
No. These are day-ahead wholesale prices. Most household tariffs do not change by hour, and bills include network charges and taxes.