President Nikos Christodoulides has referred back to parliament a law passed in March that would require the state to compensate households and small businesses for surplus electricity generated by their solar panels, citing constitutional objections.
The law, proposed by DIKO MP Michalis Giakoumis, would have obliged the Council of Ministers to set compensation rates for energy surpluses from residential and small commercial photovoltaic systems through a decree.
In a letter to the parliamentary president, Christodoulides set out three grounds for referring the law back for reconsideration.
First, he argued that because the law bars compensation costs from being passed on to consumers, incorporated into electricity system costs, or recovered through regulated charges, the only reasonable interpretation is that the state budget would have to foot the bill — something he said is incompatible with Article 80 of the constitution.
Second, he flagged a conflict with Supreme Court case law. Because the law’s provisions extend to support schemes issued before it came into force, Christodoulides said this gives the legislation retroactive effect — which, while not prohibited under Supreme Court jurisprudence, is considered undesirable.
Third, he argued the law violates the separation of powers, saying the legislature had improperly intervened in the executive functions of the Council of Ministers.
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