Filenews 17 September 2023 - by Chrysanthos Manoli
The Ministry of Energy is determined to proceed with the implementation of a financing program for residential electricity consumers to install rooftop photovoltaics without initial capital, considering that it is urgent to facilitate households to drastically reduce electricity costs through self-production.
Phileleftheros is informed that to this end the Ministry has decided to reject EAC's proposal to provide a subsidy of €600 per kilowatt to households with consumption up to 6,000 kilowatt hours per year and is proceeding rapidly with the completion and publication of its own plan, which will enable all residential consumers living in homes that can accommodate photovoltaics, to do so, by paying in instalments, utilizing the money they will save from reduced electricity consumption by the EAC network.
We are also informed that the financing of the project will not be done through borrowing from banks, but from the RES and EE (Energy Saving) Fund, which is financed by electricity consumers and at this stage has a significant surplus. In case the plan is embraced by households and its financing needs increase, funds from the revenues that the Republic derives from the purchase of emission allowances will be used for EAC's operations.
Our information tells us that residential consumers who want to take advantage of the scheme will contact the RES Fund, will obtain approval to cover the amount for the purchase of the photovoltaic, will proceed to an agreement with a system installer and then their electricity supplier (for the moment it is exclusively EAC) will collect the repayment instalments and deposit them in the RES Fund.
Consumers who will take advantage of the scheme will be able to install a photovoltaic system with a capacity of up to 4 or 4.5 kilowatts, a power that is considered satisfactory for Cypriot households. It may also be possible for consumers to pay in advance a part of the cost of installing the photovoltaic system, in order to reduce the number of doses and the amount of each instalment.
Quality specifications
In addition, our information indicates that the ministry intends to draw up quality standards for the systems that can be financed through the RES and EE Fund, in order to ensure that the public money that will be allocated will end up in quality photovoltaics. It is also considered to ensure that suppliers of systems that meet the specifications commit to the RES Fund and consumers regarding the maximum selling price of their product, in order to avoid overpricing phenomena due to the expected increased demand.
The reason why the Ministry rejected EAC's proposal to subsidize 1,200 to 1,300 households with €600 per kilowatt was precisely the limitation of the number of consumers who would benefit, but also the limitation on the duration of the EAC scheme (in 2024). The ministry considers that it is imperative that the plan actually provides the right to photovoltaics "to everyone", provided that there are no technical or other obstacles to hosting the system on the roof of the house. The interest of households remains high, as it is estimated that more than 10,000 applications are submitted annually.
In addition, a potential risk was identified that the EAC project would be judged by the EU as State aid.
The photovoltaics that will be financed through the plan of the Ministry of Energy will be net metering and not net billing, as provided for in EAC's proposal.
