Owners of residential photovoltaics have been facing frequent production cuts in the last 30 days, according to the latest EAC data collected by "F" and covering the period from April 4 to May 4, 2026.
Based on the latest available data from the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, cuts in residential photovoltaics moved from 15 to 17 times within a period of 30 days. Essentially, in most cases, photovoltaic systems have been put out of production for some time about every other day, or sometimes even consecutive days when electricity consumption is at low levels.
The data show that these cuts are repeated, as of the 20 groups of residential photovoltaics included in the relevant table, the vast majority had 16 cuts within the 30-day period, while in some cases the cuts reached 17, with only one group having 15 cuts. Specifically, the 14 teams recorded 16 cuts, while five teams reached 17 cuts in the same period.
Why are the cuts being made?
As has been explained many times, the Distribution System Operator implements, when a technical need arises, procedures for limiting or curtailing the production of energy from renewable sources, with the aim of maintaining the stability and safe operation of the electricity grid.
These processes are only activated in specific cases, such as when electricity consumption is particularly low compared to production, however, due to temperatures these cuts are increasingly frequent.
This practice will never essentially disappear, since the cuts are applied even in European countries with better infrastructure, however, their percentage and frequency may be limited if energy storage, grid reinforcement are implemented, but also if Cyprus is electrically interconnected with other countries.
However, based on current data, cuts may become even more frequent, since residential photovoltaics will reach 100,000.
The solution for self-consumption
The issue of cuts has led many photovoltaic owners to look for ways to avoid them. According to a previous report by "F", there is a possibility for residential and small commercial photovoltaics to legally avoid the cuts through an application to convert the connection to a zero-injection regime in the network, the so-called "zero export". In this case, the energy produced is used exclusively for self-consumption and is not fed into the grid.
"Zero export" can be implemented in two ways. The first is permanent zero injection, where the photovoltaic system works exclusively for the needs of the installation, without exporting electricity to the grid. The second is the occasional zero injection, in which the system can extract energy when conditions allow, but temporarily switches to zero injection when required for the balance and safe operation of the electrical system.
However, the key question is whether this solution is economically advantageous. In order to implement the function, it is necessary to convert the photovoltaic system and install special equipment, such as a "smart meter". According to the data cited in the same report, the total cost can approach €500, including the device, additional materials and labour.
Technocrats estimate that, for an average household, the financial loss from cuts remains limited. Based on an indicative calculation, if a home consumes about 300W per hour and the cut-off lasts four hours, with a kilowatt-hour price of 29 cents, the loss corresponds to about 34 cents. Even with repeated cuts, the annual cost is estimated to be no more than €20.
With this data, the conversion to "zero export" seems difficult to amortize for an average household, as it takes many years to cover the initial costs. Similarly, the use of batteries is not considered an economically attractive solution for home systems, as their cost can reach €700 to €800 per kilowatt hour.
