ACER flags cross-zonal capacity gaps after 2024 SEE price spikes

Southeast Europe recorded a sustained electricity price spike episode in summer 2024. ACER has now published a formal recommendations package in response, targeting two structural weaknesses: insufficient cross-zonal capacity and inadequate system flexibility across the region.

The agency's analysis points to binding interconnector constraints that prevented cheaper generation in neighbouring zones from clearing high prices during the stress period. ACER's recommendations call on regional TSOs to expand the volume of cross-zonal capacity made available to the market and to develop additional flexibility resources capable of responding during peak system stress.

ACER does not specify binding numerical targets in the summary, but the direction is clear: the current framework for capacity calculation and allocation in the SEE region left the market structurally exposed. The recommendations carry regulatory weight. Member-state regulators and TSOs are expected to respond with implementation plans.

The SEE region's interconnection bottlenecks have been a recurring concern in European market integration discussions. This publication gives those concerns a formal regulatory footing ahead of summer 2025.