Filenews 25 November 2025
The first commercial competition operation in the production and supply of electricity in Cyprus, on October 1, 2025, through the European Target Model, after many delays and postponements, was welcomed by all professional and political sides, although everyone maintains their reservations about the problems that will arise in the first years.
The state prioritized the benefits for the final electricity consumer from competition, but pointed out that the relief of the financial burden of the household consumer cannot be immediately noticed.
Electricity producers and suppliers should be given sufficient time to adapt to the possibilities and demands of the market, to adapt their production to the real needs of their customers and to expand cooperation between them, so that as soon as possible they can offer services not only to large industrial and commercial consumers, as today, but also to a significant part of the approximately 400,000 household consumers who today are completely dependent on the expensive conventional production of the EAC, without having self-production capabilities through privately owned rooftop photovoltaics.
In a very recent public intervention by the Electricity Market Association (SAH), which brings together all the major private electricity producers and suppliers, it made a generally positive first assessment of the first weeks of operation of the market, noting the following: "The opening of the Competitive Electricity Market is the first and important step in creating a truly healthy competition in the energy market of Cyprus.
With the operation of the market, in addition to enhancing transparency, a new mentality is also introduced: Citizens from passive recipients become active consumers."
But in what ways will household consumers be able to benefit from the new way the electricity market operates, even at a later time?
The Electricity Market Association explains:
Each energy supplier has the ability to formulate its own commercial policy and offer different "packages" tailored to the customer's needs, according to its consumption profile and the level of risk it is willing to undertake. For instance, a Fixed Kilowatt-hour Price Per Year may be offered, which is considered an ideal method for those who desire predictability. A Fixed Price Per Month package can also be offered, offering more flexibility.
And there is also the option of Time-of-Use Dynamic Pricing: The price remains predetermined, but varies according to the time of day. The consumer chooses this tariff based on his consumption profile. For example, the charges are cheaper if it transfers its use to times with high RES production, such as morning or lunchtime. This encourages a more rational use of energy and the best utilization of Renewable Energy Sources.
An important public intervention for the operation of the competitive market in Cyprus was made by the former president of CERA Andreas Poullikkas, who pointed out "the necessity of decoupling the prices of renewable energy sources from the volatility of fossil fuels (oil and natural gas, if imported into Cyprus) is a key element in avoiding systemic weaknesses and promoting transparency and price stability".
The goal of decoupling the price of the "green" kilowatt hour from the price of electricity production from conventional fuels directly concerns almost all countries of the European Union, as the phenomenon occurs in them that in many hours of the 24 hours the price of the kilowatt hour produced by photovoltaic, wind or other RES systems, at a very low cost, is sold at the price that the expensive conventional production from oil is priced, natural gas, coal, etc.
This serious weakness is also present in these early stages of the Cypriot market, however in Brussels various measures are being discussed to achieve the very essential goal of decoupling cheap green electricity production from expensive conventional electricity and the burdens of pollutant costs.
In any case, the calm – and generally optimistic – remark of the former president of CERA is of particular importance, but it also contains a recommendation that must be taken into account by all market players: "Cyprus is at a critical point of transition. The process of learning and optimization is key to the success of the system and requires patience and continuous adjustments from all stakeholders involved. The conditions for the development of healthy competition are now starting to take shape, ensuring that maturity takes on a European dimension, allowing Cypriot consumers to benefit from the benefits offered by mature and transparent markets."
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