Around 10,000 households who installed rooftop solar panels under Cyprus’s 2021 scheme will not lose their accumulated electricity surplus, according to Phileleftheros sources, as the government moves to carve out an exemption ahead of a parliamentary showdown over the issue today.
What is the solar surplus dispute?
Residential solar panel owners in Cyprus can feed excess electricity they generate back into the EAC grid, building up a surplus. In recent weeks, the government deleted that accumulated surplus for households who had not used it — triggering a backlash from affected homeowners and prompting parliament to act.
What did parliament do?
Parliament unanimously passed a law, proposed by DIKO MP Michalis Damianos, to establish a compensation methodology for households whose surplus had been deleted. President Christodoulides referred the law back to parliament, acting on a Law Office opinion that certain provisions were unconstitutional — specifically because they imposed an obligation on the state treasury to pay significant sums in compensation to households.
Why is the 2021 scheme different?
Following consultations between the Energy Ministry, EAC, the Energy Service and the Consumer Protection Service, the government has decided that households which installed rooftop solar panels under the 2021 scheme should be exempt from the deletion, Phileleftheros sources say.
That scheme included a specific provision — only recently identified — stating that kilowatt-hour reserves fed into the EAC grid would not be deleted, and that households would be compensated for their surplus by EAC at the end of their contracts, 15 years after installation.
Who remains affected?
Households that built up a surplus under other schemes will still have that surplus deleted, in line with the contracts they signed, according to Phileleftheros sources.
What happens today?
The Energy Committee meets in emergency session this morning, with Energy Minister Michalis Damianos attending. The minister will brief the committee on the exemption, after which official announcements are expected.
The full parliament plenary will also debate the presidential referral of the law today. Despite reports circulating yesterday suggesting otherwise, Phileleftheros sources say the government will maintain its position that the law cannot stand on constitutional grounds.