From August 2025 through July 2026, low-carbon sources supplied almost two-thirds of North Macedonia’s electricity consumption. Solar led with about 40%, followed by hydropower at almost 19% and wind at nearly 4%. Fossil fuels supplied around 28%: coal accounted for about 18%, gas for almost 9%, and oil for just over 1%. Net imports covered the remaining 9%; their generation sources are not specified. Clean electricity now clearly outweighs fossil electricity, although coal and gas still make a substantial contribution.

Is Electricity Growing in North Macedonia?

Electricity consumption is growing, with particularly strong progress in clean generation. The latest 2026 figure reached 4,728 kWh per person, around 105 kWh—or 2%—above the previous record of 4,624 kWh in 2011. Low-carbon electricity generation reached 2,967 kWh per person, surpassing the 2025 record of 1,911 kWh by roughly 1,057 kWh, or 55%. These records are encouraging, but total electricity consumption has only modestly exceeded a peak set 15 years earlier. Sustained growth in clean electricity will help meet future demand from electrification and AI while reducing reliance on fossil fuels and their climate and air-pollution impacts.

Suggestions

North Macedonia should build on its impressive solar contribution by expanding solar generation, alongside grid upgrades and storage to support greater electricity supply. Nearby regions offer useful examples for diversifying clean generation: wind supplies about 21% of electricity generation in Greece and 15% in Croatia, suggesting opportunities to develop North Macedonia’s own wind resources further. Nuclear should also be considered as a source of dependable low-carbon electricity, including through regional cooperation. Bulgaria generates about 37% of its electricity from nuclear, Slovenia about 40%, and Slovakia almost two-thirds. Learning from these regional experiences could help North Macedonia combine expanding solar and wind with nuclear generation to support a larger, cleaner electricity system.

History

Historically, North Macedonia’s low-carbon electricity changes were dominated by hydropower fluctuations. In the 1990s, hydro generation rose by 0.4 TWh in 1991, fell by 0.3 TWh in 1993, and recovered by the same amount in 1999. The 2000s brought further swings, including declines of 0.5 TWh in 2001 and 0.6 TWh in 2007, alongside gains of 0.6 TWh in 2003 and 0.4 TWh in 2009. A substantial 1.2 TWh increase in 2010 was followed by declines totaling 1.4 TWh in 2011–2012. Further gains in 2013, 2015, and 2018 alternated with disappointing declines in 2014, 2017, and 2019, before a 0.3 TWh increase in 2023. More recently, solar has driven an encouraging acceleration: generation increased by 0.5 TWh in 2024, 0.9 TWh in 2025, and 1.6 TWh in 2026—a combined gain of 3 TWh in three years.

Electricity Imports and Exports

Balance of Trade

* 12M = Last 12 months (Aug 2025 – Jul 2026) — a rolling 12-month period, not a calendar year.