Fact Check Cyprus, the center of the Social Informatics Research Unit at CUT, which aims to combat misinformation from Cyprus and Greece.
Specifically, in a social media “challenge,” Fidias Panagiotou claims that private solar farms generate electricity at a cost of 5 to 7 cents per kWh and sell it to the Cyprus Electricity Authority (AHK) at 25 to 30 cents per kWh, which is about 4.6 times more expensive. He also claims that the President of the Republic has the power to reduce the electricity bills of all Cypriots by 20% with a single decision, but chooses not to do so.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
The Fact Check Cyprus team undertook to document and verify these claims by conducting research and submitting written questions to the EAC to obtain official responses, concluding that conclusion that these are misleading and inaccurate claims and presenting the findings of its investigation.
Following the investigation conducted by Fact Check Cyprus, it was determined that, based on CERA Regulatory Decision 01/2021 as well as the relevant official response from the EAC, the claim that electricity is purchased from private individuals at 25–30 cents is false. It explains that AHK Supply is expressly prohibited from entering into bilateral contracts with new commercial parks, while for older projects, the purchase price is regulated with a cap of 11 cents per kWh.
Furthermore, the reduction in the price of electricity is not a presidential decision, as market regulation falls under the jurisdiction of the independent RAEK. He explains that CERA approves the pricing and charges applied by license holders, issues production and supply licenses, and establishes, through regulatory decisions, the rules governing the market’s operation. In other words, it is the body that determines what price each energy company can charge or pay.
More specifically, here are the findings of Fact Check Cyprus:
What is currently in effect
According to the report “Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2024” by the International Renewable Energy Agency (irena.org, archived here), data from which is also cited in the Audit Office’s Special Report, the global levelized cost of energy for large-scale photovoltaics fell by 90% between 2010 and 2024, from 0.417 to 0.043 U.S. dollars per kWh (gov.cy, archived here).
In other words, the cost of energy production is approximately 4 euro cents, a figure consistent with that cited by the Member of the European Parliament. This figure, as defined by the report itself, represents the total cost of constructing and operating a power plant per kilowatt-hour produced; in other words, it includes capital investment as well as operating costs.
The price at which the EAC, as a supplier, purchases energy from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) is neither freely negotiable nor hidden, but rather regulated and published. The Fuel Adjustment Calculation Methodology of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA), as amended by Decision No. 112/2023 (archived here) of April 11, 2023, it is stipulated that when the Avoidance Cost of thermal generation by the Cyprus Electricity Authority (AHK) exceeds 11 cents per kWh, the Market Price from RES is equal to the average market price for the decade from 2013 to 2022, i.e., 11 cents per kWh on the Low Voltage grid, while when the Avoidance Cost is lower, the purchase price is equal to the Avoidance Cost itself (cera.org.cy, archived here). The 11 cents thus act as a cap rather than a floor. The decision is publicly posted in the Authority’s registry (cera.org.cy, archived here). This applies to older projects that were included in state support schemes and are subject to a purchase obligation by the EAC, which is regulated by the CERA as described above.
This regulation does not apply to new commercial solar parks. Based on CERA Regulatory Decision 01/2021 (KDP 359/2021, paragraph 7.74, archived here), the regulated supplier—that is, AHK Supply—is expressly prohibited from purchasing electricity through bilateral contracts on the wholesale market. The sole exception concerns electricity from renewable energy power plants covered by National Grant Schemes and Support Schemes (pursuant to CERA Decision 01/2015, archived here), for which the price is set at 11 cents per kWh. In Questions 9 and 10 of the Frequently Asked Questions and Answers on renewable energy power generation projects issued by the Ministry of the Interior (moi.gov.cy, archived here) it is clarified that, by a decision of the Council of Ministers dated April 15, 2015, the support schemes providing for fixed and guaranteed sale prices were abolished, and that the EAC’s obligation to purchase energy from renewable sources applied only to projects falling under those schemes.
Question 12 of the same document states that the EAC does not participate in the Transitional Electricity Market Regulation and, consequently, producers are required to enter into contracts with the (sixteen) licensed suppliers, none of whom are the EAC. The same is evident from Regulatory Decision No. 04/2017 of the CERA (Paragraph 9, cera.org.cy, archived here), which established rules for bilateral contracts exclusively between independent renewable energy producers and private suppliers.
With the launch of the Competitive Electricity Market, producers’ options have expanded, as a day-ahead market operates alongside bilateral contracts (bfu.meci.gov.cy, archived here).
The exclusion of the EAC Supply Division from bilateral contracts in the wholesale market remains in effect, as confirmed by the EAC itself, citing Regulatory Decision 01/2021.
Fact Check Cyprus submitted written questions to the EAC, which were answered by the EAC’s press spokesperson on August 26, 2026:
Question: Has the EAC’s Supply Division entered into bilateral power purchase agreements with commercial solar farms outside the Grant Schemes and Support Schemes, either under the Transitional Arrangement or under the Competitive Electricity Market?
Answer: “AHK Supply has not entered into such contracts. Pursuant to CERA Regulatory Decision 01/2021 – KDP 359/2021, paragraph 7.74, the purchase of electricity through bilateral contracts by a regulated supplier (AHK Supply) on the wholesale market is not permitted. An exception is the purchase of energy generated by renewable energy power plants under National Grant Schemes and Support Schemes for Energy from Renewable Sources, which, pursuant to Regulatory Decision 01/2015, are represented in the wholesale market by AHK Supply.”
Question: If so, within what price range per kWh do these contracts fall?
Answer: “In the case of the purchase of energy generated by renewable energy power plants under National Subsidy Schemes and Support Schemes for Energy from Renewable Sources, this price was set at 0.11 €/kWh, based on CERA Decision 112/2023.”
Question: Is there any published data on the average cost of purchasing energy from renewable sources?
Answer: “AHK Supply does not have such data, since, as explained in (1) above, it does not purchase energy from RES beyond the National Subsidy Schemes and Support Schemes for Energy from Renewable Sources, under which the price is set at 0.11 €/kWh.”
Question: Does the EAC (or EAC Supply) purchase electricity from large commercial photovoltaic parks at prices ranging between 25 and 30 cents per kilowatt-hour (€0.25 – €0.30/kWh)?
Answer: As we mentioned in our previous answer to (1), EAC Supply does not do this. AHK Supply purchases energy from renewable sources under National Subsidy Schemes and Support Schemes for Energy from Renewable Sources and pays 0.11 €/kWh.
