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24.08.2026
ENERGY POLITICS
23:23

Reactions to Phidias’s challenge: The government, ETEK, and OEB respond that he is oversimplifying a complex issue

They use data to refute the claim that electricity consumption can be reduced by 20%
ALPHANEWSLIVE


The government provided responses to MEP Fidias Panagiotou regarding the challenge he issued to the President of the Republic and his proposal for a 20% reduction in electricity prices by imposing a price cap on electricity from solar farms.
  
The government spokesperson, appearing on the “Alpha Summer” show, made it clear that the government did not need a challenge to identify the problem of electricity prices, while at the same he spoke of the oversimplification of a complex issue.
“We
weren’t waiting for any provocation from anyone. We cannot oversimplify an issue whose technical aspects were just analyzed by people far more qualified than I am.”
Konstantinos Letympiotis – Government Spokesperson
He
likened the oversimplification to a grocery basket, clarifying that it does not mean that if the price of one item goes down, the price of the entire basket.
 
“For the entire basket to become cheaper—in this case, the price of electricity in our country—we must continue to implement all the measures I described in our energy policy framework.”
Konstantinos Letympiotis – Government Spokesperson
He
noted that, based on the latest Eurostat data, electricity prices in Cyprus fell by 15% over the course of a year, during the second half of 2025.
ETEK set

the record straight with facts and figures, emphasizing that Phidias Panagiotou’s numbers “don’t add up,” since the contribution of solar farms and self-consumption systems amounts to only 23%.
 
“So the conclusion is that even if electricity from photovoltaic parks were provided for free, the price of electricity cannot fall below 5% once we factor in grid costs and other expenses.”
Chrysanthos Marouchos – Electrical Engineer and Coordinator of the ETEK
Energy Committee
He
added that the claim of billions in profits from solar farms is unfounded, since thethe entire electricity sector is valued at one billion euros for 2025.
“I cannot know exactly how much
the profits are, but they certainly are not the 7 or 8 cents that has been reported. That cost—what we call the ‘Leveraged Cost of Electricity’—would be 7 or 8 cents if all the energy were fed into the grid. Since 45% is cut off, it’s essentially as if I had a business that’s closed half the days of the week.”
Chrysanthos Marouchos – Electrical Engineer and Coordinator of the ETEK
Energy Committee The OEB accuses Phidias
of misleading the public and singling them out.
 
“The oversimplification of a complex issue with grandiose but baseless claims, the targeting of one or more participants in electricity generation, and fostering the belief among the public that simple and quick measures will reduce the cost of electricity, are not only misleading—they are also dangerous.”
OEB

The OEB emphasizes that “no single measure on its own—not even the country’s electrical interconnection with Greece and Israel—is capable of delivering dramatic reductions in the cost of electricity.

See Eleni Michael’s report:

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