Cyprus electricity market one year on: what changed for homeowners
Cyprus's competitive electricity market has been running for a year. Consumers can switch supplier within 24 hours, but prices remain among the highest in Europe. Here is what it means for property owners.
By RealDeal team · 4 min read · Published 13 Oct 2026
Contents
A year ago Cyprus launched its competitive electricity market (how it started). The decision to liberalise was taken back in 2019, but the launch was postponed several times. Now that the market has completed its first year, it is possible to assess what has changed for households, homeowners and landlords.
What changed for consumers
Since 1 October 2025, citizens and businesses have been able to choose their electricity supplier, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said at the time. Consumers can compare prices, choose the supplier that suits them and sign up for green energy products. Since January 2026, switching supplier takes 24 hours and is free of charge.
The market follows the EU target model and works like an energy exchange: prices are set in forward, day-ahead and real-time balancing markets. Suppliers buy electricity every 30 minutes.
Solar panels: new rules
Since 1 January 2026, Cyprus has applied a new self-consumption framework designed by the regulator CERA, pv magazine reports. Owners of solar systems have three options:
- 1
Sign a bilateral agreement with an electricity supplier. The duration and terms are agreed between the parties.
- 2
Join an aggregator that sells surplus generation on the market.
- 3
Not export surplus power to the grid.
What prices show
According to a monthly market report for May 2026, the average day-ahead market price was €153.80/MWh, the second-lowest since the market launched. May saw frequent zero-price periods, driven by high solar output and low demand.
However, the volume-weighted average price remained high at €206.96/MWh, and the report's authors note that Cypriot prices still exceed those of most European markets.
Why cheap solar is not reaching bills
Energy expert Dr Charles Ellinas, a Senior Fellow of the Atlantic Council, argues in a Cyprus Mail column that the main problem is structural. The EU target model was designed for large, interconnected systems, while Cyprus has no interconnection, one dominant conventional generator and relatively few private participants, many of them commercially connected.
Cyprus still produces most of its electricity from fuel oil and diesel. Under marginal pricing, the most expensive generator needed sets the price, so solar producers only need to sell slightly below conventional generation.
Energy Service data for April 2026, cited by Ellinas:
| Scheme | Capacity |
|---|---|
| Net metering | ~471.5 MW |
| Net billing | ~158.3 MW |
| Feed-in tariffs | ~76 MW |
| For the competitive market | ~326 MW |
Around 60% of solar capacity operates under self-consumption schemes and does not directly affect the market price. Meanwhile, renewable curtailment exceeded 47% in 2025: cheap power is curtailed at midday, and in the evening the system returns to expensive oil-fired generation.
The other view
In March 2026 the Cyprus Association of Electricity Suppliers' Representatives (Sepie) said that the EU-style competitive market remains the most efficient way to lower costs for consumers. In the association's view, questioning the market's basic principles increases uncertainty, delays investment and ultimately raises costs for consumers.
Ellinas, too, does not propose abandoning the market or returning to an EAC monopoly. He calls for an independent audit of bilateral contracts, producer and supplier margins and the allocation of renewable benefits, and, if needed, for EU-compatible alternatives: competitive renewable auctions, two-way contracts for difference and an independent public procurement agency.
What this means for homeowners
The verdict after the first year: choice has arrived, but bills have not noticeably fallen. Whether the market delivers real savings will largely depend on the decisions about its design now being discussed.