Filenews 11 January 2026 - by Andreas Poullikkas
The EU's recent European Grids Package is a comprehensive package of reforms on how Europe designs, licenses, finances and operates its electricity grids, from the transmission layer to distribution networks.
For Cyprus, it is not a general European text, but a practical roadmap that, if exploited, can bring our country out of energy isolation, reduce the cost of electricity and stop the waste of solar energy.
An active role of the EU
The package changes the very philosophy of European network planning. The EU is now taking an active role in shaping a single, long-term scenario for the development of the networks until 2040-2050, on which the ten-year European programming will be based, with special reference to projects of common interest and new energy corridor projects. Among the eight strategic energy corridors, the Great Sea Interconnector ranks as a critical project, as the only way to stop Cyprus from being the last unconnected EU member state to the internal electricity market.
The European Grids Package brings profound changes to how grid projects and RES and storage connections are planned and approved. It introduces principles such as the "first-ready first-served" logic in connection queues, with clear maturity criteria and timelines, so that purely speculative projects that tie up power without being implemented can be removed in a timely manner. It also provides for the acceleration of licensing by simplifying procedures, the possible application of "positive silence" (if the administration does not respond within the deadline, the license is presumed) and the creation of single digital portals for all RES, storage and network licenses in each member state.
The package also touches on the sensitive area of financing and cost sharing. The EU recognises that more than €580 billion of investments in networks are needed to meet the needs by 2030, but that blind passing on of costs to consumers is not politically or socially sustainable. For this reason, the European Networks Package proposes greater transparency and fair cost-benefit sharing in cross-border projects, facilitating the bundling of projects for easier funding through dedicated partnerships, as well as better use of tools such as the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and private funds.
Digitalization, flexibility and security are emerging as pillars equal to classic line and substation extensions. The text stresses that before investing in new cables, we need to exhaust the capacity of existing networks through grid-boosting technologies, digital technologies, smart meters, dynamic flow limits and tariffs that send correct signals to users. Also, the physical and cybersecurity of the networks is explicitly included in the design, with the possibility of funding resilience measures from the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF), in order to reduce dependence on high-risk suppliers and strengthen protection against cyberattacks.
What Cyprus is called upon to do?
In this European context, Cyprus cannot remain an observer.
– First, Cyprus must radically revise the ten-year planning for the development of transmission and distribution networks in full convergence with the European scenario and the requirements of the European Networks Package, as provided for in the relevant CERA Regulatory Decision of 2019 for the redesign of the electricity system of Cyprus. Despite the delay observed in the implementation of this Regulatory Decision, immediate action is needed to design an active, preventive network that incorporates high penetration of RES, mass deployment of heat pumps, electromobility, and storage systems. The European demand for better coordination of transmission-distribution planning and for the timely strengthening of key areas with strong RES development is an ideal occasion to correct the current bottlenecks in the Cypriot electricity grid.
– A second and fundamental priority is the acceleration and shielding of the Greece-Cyprus-Israel interconnection.
– Thirdly, our country needs a substantial reform of the licensing regime and connection queues, utilizing the tools brought by the European Networks Package. The introduction of a transparent "first-ready first-served" system with clear maturity stages, deadlines and penalties for those who commit power without moving forward, to free up space for serious storage system projects.
At the same time, the creation of a single digital platform for all applications for RES, networks and storage projects, as provided for in the European package, will respond to the chronic criticism of delays.
– Fourthly, Cyprus must transpose the European directions for digitalisation and smart grids into a specific national investment programme. The deployment of smart meters, the introduction of dynamic grid usage tariffs, the development of centralised flexibility management and storage systems, as well as the strengthening of the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, cannot remain in the pilot phase at a time when the European Networks Package gives a clear signal and provides the possibility of European funding.
At the same time, national Regulatory Decisions must ensure that these investments will not be mechanically translated into network increases for the final consumer, but will be accompanied by measurable benefits in reducing RES cuts, improving reliability and containing wholesale prices.
Fifthly, the link between the network strategy and tackling energy poverty and the competitiveness of the economy is crucial. The European Grids Package is based on the assessment that better, more interconnected and smarter grids can reduce overall system costs by reducing waste, the need for fossil fuel backup units and exposure to international fuel prices.
In a country where solar production cuts are increasing and energy poverty is worsening, alignment with the European Grids Package is not a technical luxury, but a basic social policy. Every kilowatt hour of RES that is not lost in the network, and every euro saved at the system level, can be passed on to the household and small business account.
THE FOUR MAJOR PILLARS OF THE PACKAGE
In terms of content, the package includes four major sections:
(a) new European network planning and "energy corridors";
(b) reform of the rules on licences and connections;
(c) support for financing and cost sharing, and
(d) digitalisation, security and storage.
The focus is on finding that the EU is about 88 gigawatts short of cross-border transmission capacity by 2030 and that without aggressive investment and smart management, neither climate targets nor bill reductions are achievable.
Cyprus should decide now
The European Networks Package acts as a mirror for Cypriot energy policy. As Europe attempts a leap towards an interconnected, digital and resilient energy system, Cyprus is being called upon to decide whether to remain an isolated, expensive and technically fragile island or whether to use the new European framework to transform its grids.
This requires political will, institutional seriousness and technical competence, but also a new honesty towards society since cheaper, cleaner and safer energy will not come with slogans, but with the continuous development and upgrading of networks, substations, software and rules, exactly where the European Networks Package now provides the tools.
* Professor of Energy Systems, Frederick University
