Filenews 13 December 2025 - by Charalambos Zakos
The "Photovoltaics for All" plan expires at the end of the year and many consumers are wondering whether the Government is going to reinstate a plan or re-announce the same, based on what was launched with the abolition of the measure for net metering and the calculation of new applications that will be submitted from 2026 onwards under the net billing regime.
Essentially, the two main questions are, first, whether the "Photovoltaics for All" plan will be re-announced, which concerns the subsidy for the installation of photovoltaic systems up to 4.16 kW, or whether another plan will be promoted and, second, what about the applications and the abolition of net metering.
A new plan is coming
According to the information of "F", the Ministry of Energy is not going to re-announce the "Photovoltaics for all" but will proceed with a new plan, which will be financed with national resources.
The same information states that this plan is under consultation and it is expected that, if everything goes smoothly, it will be announced in early 2026. Although so far the information on the provisions of the plan is limited, it seems that in addition to the subsidy of a photovoltaic system, it will also include a sponsorship for home energy storage, i.e. batteries, in order to address the problems observed with the energy cuts in residential photovoltaics.
EAC "drowned" in applications
As it had already become known, a large number of applications had been submitted to the Electricity Authority of Cyprus for some time now – and continue to be submitted – in order for consumers to anticipate the way of calculating their production and consumption with net metering, since the new applications from 2026 onwards will be included in the net billing plan.
According to EAC spokesperson, Christina Papadopoulou, the Authority, due to the large volume of applications that have been submitted to it, has already proceeded with the purchase of services to process the applications.
Specifically, the Electricity Authority of Cyprus has more than 4,000 applications before it. As officially transferred, those who submit their applications until 31/12 will be able to join if they are beneficiaries of both the "Photovoltaics for All" plan and the net metering calculation method, but as long as their applications are fully completed and they have a building permit issued before December 31, 2021.
It is clarified that the abolition of net metering does not automatically entail a change in the way of netting for those consumers who already have net metering contracts, while those who manage to submit an application by the last day of the year will also be able to choose this netting system. In addition, an important element is that all private contracts are valid for 15 years, so any change, for those consumers who already have a contract or will apply by the end of 2025, will occur after the expiration of their contract.
How many are there
According to the latest data up to September 2025, the vast majority of contracts concern net metering.
More specifically, the photovoltaic systems with a net metering contract amounted to 89,157, with a total capacity of 417.67MW. In contrast, net billing amounted to 1,892 with a capacity of 144.23MW, while biomass systems with net billing amounted to only 10, with an installed capacity of 8.94MW.
Compared to the last previous data up to June 2025, there is a sharp increase, especially in net metering systems, some increase in net billing, however, no differentiation in biomass systems.
In particular, in June 2025, photovoltaic systems with a net metering contract amounted to 84,715, with a total capacity of 406MW, contracts for net billing amounted to 1,698, with a total capacity of 118.9MW.
What is the difference between net metering and net billing?
In simple terms, the net metering system is based on the net metering between the electricity produced by a residential photovoltaic system and the energy consumed by the grid. During the day, when the production of photovoltaics exceeds the immediate needs of the household, the excess energy is channelled into the electrical grid.
In the evening hours or during periods of reduced sunshine, the consumer draws electricity from the network of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus.
In this context, the offsetting is done at the level of kilowatt hours. That is, the kilowatt-hours injected into the grid are subtracted from the kilowatt-hours consumed at a later time.
If, in an annual or other specified netting period, the energy produced equals or exceeds consumption, the electricity bill is significantly reduced, with the consumer paying mainly regulated charges and fees. Net metering therefore functions as a mechanism for "storing" energy in the grid, without monetary transaction for excess production.
On the contrary, the net billing system follows the same basic principle of concession and extraction of energy from the grid, however the method of offsetting differs substantially. In this case, the offsetting is not done in kilowatt hours but in monetary value. The energy fed into the grid is valued based on the price of the kilowatt hour at the time of production, while the energy consumed by the grid is charged at the price in force at the time of consumption.
The difference between these two values is recorded in euros and reflected in the consumer's bill. In practice, compensation for excess production is linked to the so-called 'avoidance costs', i.e. the costs that the electricity system avoids because it does not need to produce or supply the corresponding amount of energy. As a result, net billing exposes the consumer to fluctuations in electricity prices, differentiating the economic benefit from the more stable model of net metering.
