Price Gaps Between Neighbouring Electricity Zones, to 2026-10-11 (11 October 2026)
Across 78 pairs of neighbouring European bidding zones, the widest average day-ahead price gap was EUR 85.14/MWh between Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3), and prices were identical in 14% of all compared hours, over 3 to 11 October 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, 3 to 11 October 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 85.14/MWh between Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3), and prices were identical in 14% of all compared hours, over 3 to 11 October 2026.
- Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) had the widest average gap, EUR 85.14/MWh over 199 compared hours, with Sweden South-Central (SE3) cheaper in 91% of hours.
- Italy Calabria and Italy South 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, 87% of 199 compared hours. This is an indicator of constrained interconnectors, not proof of congestion.
- 2 of 78 pairs had the same price in at least 99.5% of hours.
The 10 Widest Gaps
Mean absolute hourly gap, EUR/MWh| Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | |
|---|---|
| Lithuania and Poland | |
| Albania and Greece | |
| France and Italy North | |
| Norway South-East (NO1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | |
| Switzerland and France | |
| Poland and Slovakia | |
| Austria and Czechia | |
| Norway Central (NO3) and Norway North (NO4) | |
| Czechia and Slovakia |
The widest gap was Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3), EUR 85.14/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 2026-10-11| # | Zone pair | Average gap (EUR/MWh) | Identical hours | Hours more than 20 EUR/MWh apart | Usually cheaper | Hours compared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 85.14 | 0% | 80% | Sweden South-Central (SE3), 91% of hours | 199 |
| 2 | Lithuania and Poland | 82.64 | 0% | 74% | Lithuania, 67% of hours | 127 |
| 3 | Albania and Greece | 78.67 | 0% | 71% | Greece, 77% of hours | 175 |
| 4 | France and Italy North | 77.43 | 3% | 77% | France, 96% of hours | 199 |
| 5 | Norway South-East (NO1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 65.72 | 1% | 87% | Sweden South-Central (SE3), 95% of hours | 199 |
| 6 | Switzerland and France | 61.90 | 0% | 61% | France, 87% of hours | 199 |
| 7 | Poland and Slovakia | 60.48 | 3% | 66% | Poland, 83% of hours | 175 |
| 8 | Austria and Czechia | 52.28 | 4% | 65% | Czechia, 88% of hours | 199 |
| 9 | Norway Central (NO3) and Norway North (NO4) | 50.82 | 1% | 87% | Norway North (NO4), 98% of hours | 199 |
| 10 | Czechia and Slovakia | 49.98 | 5% | 42% | Czechia, 75% of hours | 175 |
| 11 | Norway Central (NO3) and Sweden North-Central (SE2) | 49.31 | 1% | 86% | Sweden North-Central (SE2), 95% of hours | 199 |
| 12 | Sweden South-Central (SE3) and Sweden South (SE4) | 49.21 | 8% | 61% | Sweden South-Central (SE3), 92% of hours | 199 |
| 13 | Switzerland and Germany and Luxembourg | 47.09 | 0% | 59% | Germany and Luxembourg, 90% of hours | 175 |
| 14 | Norway South-East (NO1) and Norway Central (NO3) | 46.28 | 1% | 86% | Norway Central (NO3), 98% of hours | 199 |
| 15 | Albania and Montenegro | 45.12 | 2% | 65% | Montenegro, 61% of hours | 199 |
| 16 | Germany and Luxembourg and Sweden South (SE4) | 43.99 | 0% | 54% | Sweden South (SE4), 82% of hours | 175 |
| 17 | Austria and Germany and Luxembourg | 43.64 | 5% | 59% | Germany and Luxembourg, 85% of hours | 175 |
| 18 | Poland and Sweden South (SE4) | 43.27 | 0% | 67% | Sweden South (SE4), 69% of hours | 199 |
| 19 | Spain and France | 40.73 | 14% | 56% | France, 57% of hours | 199 |
| 20 | Lithuania and Sweden South (SE4) | 40.59 | 2% | 39% | Lithuania, 68% of hours | 127 |
| 21 | Greece and North Macedonia | 39.16 | 0% | 69% | North Macedonia, 55% of hours | 175 |
| 22 | Norway Central (NO3) and Norway West (NO5) | 37.63 | 1% | 86% | Norway Central (NO3), 98% of hours | 199 |
| 23 | Bulgaria and Greece | 37.20 | 49% | 39% | Greece, 47% of hours | 175 |
| 24 | Bulgaria and North Macedonia | 37.14 | 0% | 70% | North Macedonia, 84% of hours | 199 |
| 25 | Montenegro and Serbia | 36.23 | 1% | 58% | Serbia, 57% of hours | 199 |
| 26 | Denmark East (DK2) and Sweden South (SE4) | 36.03 | 1% | 48% | Sweden South (SE4), 84% of hours | 199 |
| 27 | Estonia and Latvia | 35.72 | 65% | 24% | Estonia, 35% of hours | 127 |
| 28 | North Macedonia and Serbia | 35.06 | 1% | 63% | North Macedonia, 69% of hours | 199 |
| 29 | Bulgaria and Serbia | 33.66 | 0% | 53% | Serbia, 68% of hours | 199 |
| 30 | Austria and Hungary | 32.41 | 5% | 46% | Austria, 70% of hours | 175 |
| 31 | Hungary and Serbia | 32.22 | 0% | 53% | Serbia, 82% of hours | 175 |
| 32 | Netherlands and Norway South-West (NO2) | 32.10 | 0% | 55% | Norway South-West (NO2), 73% of hours | 175 |
| 33 | Germany and Luxembourg and Norway South-West (NO2) | 31.19 | 0% | 51% | Norway South-West (NO2), 69% of hours | 175 |
| 34 | Sweden North-Central (SE2) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 29.72 | 8% | 44% | Sweden North-Central (SE2), 74% of hours | 199 |
| 35 | Romania and Serbia | 29.11 | 0% | 50% | Serbia, 78% of hours | 175 |
| 36 | Finland and Sweden South-Central (SE3) | 27.99 | 8% | 44% | Finland, 74% of hours | 199 |
| 37 | Croatia and Serbia | 27.70 | 0% | 47% | Serbia, 60% of hours | 175 |
| 38 | Denmark West (DK1) and Norway South-West (NO2) | 26.73 | 0% | 43% | Norway South-West (NO2), 60% of hours | 199 |
| 39 | Austria and Italy North | 26.07 | 7% | 48% | Austria, 78% of hours | 199 |
| 40 | Germany and Luxembourg and Poland | 24.35 | 2% | 45% | Poland, 74% of hours | 175 |
| 41 | Italy North and Slovenia | 24.29 | 12% | 38% | Slovenia, 68% of hours | 199 |
| 42 | Hungary and Slovakia | 23.19 | 6% | 31% | Slovakia, 61% of hours | 175 |
| 43 | Czechia and Poland | 22.21 | 2% | 40% | Poland, 53% of hours | 199 |
| 44 | Hungary and Slovenia | 21.21 | 5% | 37% | Slovenia, 66% of hours | 175 |
| 45 | Switzerland and Italy North | 18.94 | 0% | 42% | Switzerland, 84% of hours | 199 |
| 46 | Estonia and Finland | 18.46 | 25% | 18% | Finland, 63% of hours | 127 |
| 47 | Germany and Luxembourg and France | 16.86 | 5% | 26% | Germany and Luxembourg, 67% of hours | 175 |
| 48 | Czechia and Germany and Luxembourg | 16.78 | 5% | 29% | Czechia, 65% of hours | 175 |
| 49 | Austria and Switzerland | 16.53 | 1% | 29% | Austria, 55% of hours | 199 |
| 50 | Norway South-West (NO2) and Norway West (NO5) | 16.46 | 9% | 41% | Norway West (NO5), 78% of hours | 199 |
| 51 | Croatia and Hungary | 16.25 | 5% | 33% | Croatia, 68% of hours | 175 |
| 52 | Finland and Norway North (NO4) | 13.73 | 8% | 21% | Finland, 46% of hours | 199 |
| 53 | Italy Centre-South and Italy Sardinia | 13.48 | 72% | 14% | Italy Sardinia, 28% of hours | 199 |
| 54 | Austria and Slovenia | 13.40 | 5% | 28% | Austria, 66% of hours | 199 |
| 55 | Bulgaria and Romania | 11.95 | 3% | 18% | Bulgaria, 87% of hours | 175 |
| 56 | Norway North (NO4) and Sweden North-Central (SE2) | 11.20 | 8% | 18% | Norway North (NO4), 48% of hours | 199 |
| 57 | Norway North (NO4) and Sweden North (SE1) | 10.51 | 8% | 17% | Sweden North (SE1), 47% of hours | 199 |
| 58 | Denmark West (DK1) and Netherlands | 9.97 | 5% | 19% | Denmark West (DK1), 70% of hours | 175 |
| 59 | Belgium and France | 9.89 | 4% | 14% | France, 49% of hours | 199 |
| 60 | Italy Calabria and Italy Sicily | 9.58 | 90% | 7% | Italy Calabria, 10% of hours | 199 |
| 61 | Belgium and Germany and Luxembourg | 9.57 | 5% | 14% | Germany and Luxembourg, 70% of hours | 175 |
| 62 | Norway South-East (NO1) and Norway West (NO5) | 9.54 | 1% | 14% | Norway West (NO5), 68% of hours | 199 |
| 63 | Norway South-East (NO1) and Norway South-West (NO2) | 7.74 | 1% | 6% | Norway South-East (NO1), 98% of hours | 199 |
| 64 | Germany and Luxembourg and Netherlands | 7.48 | 6% | 11% | Germany and Luxembourg, 65% of hours | 175 |
| 65 | Italy Centre-South and Italy South | 6.96 | 84% | 8% | Italy South, 16% of hours | 199 |
| 66 | Germany and Luxembourg and Denmark West (DK1) | 6.82 | 5% | 10% | Denmark West (DK1), 76% of hours | 175 |
| 67 | Hungary and Romania | 5.68 | 5% | 3% | Romania, 77% of hours | 175 |
| 68 | Germany and Luxembourg and Denmark East (DK2) | 5.55 | 0% | 5% | Denmark East (DK2), 68% of hours | 175 |
| 69 | Croatia and Slovenia | 5.22 | 5% | 5% | Slovenia, 71% of hours | 175 |
| 70 | Belgium and Netherlands | 4.61 | 5% | 5% | Netherlands, 63% of hours | 175 |
| 71 | Italy Centre-North and Italy Centre-South | 3.88 | 90% | 4% | Italy Centre-South, 10% of hours | 199 |
| 72 | Denmark West (DK1) and Denmark East (DK2) | 3.67 | 2% | 3% | Denmark West (DK1), 50% of hours | 199 |
| 73 | Lithuania and Latvia | 3.65 | 89% | 4% | Latvia, 9% of hours | 127 |
| 74 | Finland and Sweden North (SE1) | 3.26 | 14% | 7% | Sweden North (SE1), 51% of hours | 199 |
| 75 | Sweden North (SE1) and Sweden North-Central (SE2) | 3.09 | 9% | 1% | Sweden North (SE1), 73% of hours | 199 |
| 76 | Spain and Portugal | 0.98 | 90% | 2% | Spain, 10% of hours | 199 |
| 77 | Italy Calabria and Italy South | 0.00 | 100% | 0% | Same price | 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 2026-10-11. 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 (10 September to 9 October 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 3 to 11 October 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, 3 to 11 October 2026, Denmark West (DK1) and Sweden South-Central (SE3) were EUR 85.14/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 87% 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.