Hydropower generation expected to drop by 25% compared to last year

The Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) has announced that hydropower generation in 2025 is expected to be around 25% lower than in 2024. The projected output of about 8 TWh will fall even below the historically low level of 8.3 TWh recorded 36 years ago.

Since the beginning of 2025, Serbia’s hydropower plants have produced around 6.5 TWh of electricity. For comparison, the average annual generation between 2010 and 2024 was 10.6 TWh, accounting for about 31% of total EPS production.

The decline is mainly caused by low water levels in the Drina and Danube rivers, where Serbia’s major hydropower plants are located. The lack of snow and rainfall in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro has reduced inflows into Serbian reservoirs. Occasional rainfalls this year did not significantly improve water levels.

Even though modernization projects at Đerdap 1, Bajina Bašta, and Zvornik HPPs have increased turbine efficiency, water inflows remain critically low, and there were even periods when the Danube became temporarily non-navigable.

Comment by the Institute of Danube Research:

“The drop in hydropower production in Serbia highlights a broader challenge for the entire Danube Basin. Climate change is already directly affecting energy stability, navigation, and aquatic ecosystems.
This situation demonstrates the urgent need for cross-border coordination and adaptive water management policies across the Danube region,”
— stated IDR experts.