🔊Parliament passes law compensating excess solar panel energy — opposition calls decision populist and risky Cyprus' parliament has voted in favour of a law obligating the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) to compensate households for excess electricity generated by solar panels under the net metering scheme. Previously, such surplus was written off every three years. Critics describe the decision as hasty, unconstitutional and fraught with serious consequences for the EAC, the state and consumers who do not have solar panels. The law was introduced urgently without prior consultation or a cost-benefit assessment. According to opponents, this is election populism: MPs who voted for the law knew the president would almost certainly send it back for revision, but sought in this way to build political capital ahead of the elections. The crux of the problem is that residential solar panels are not designed to produce excess energy. Their purpose is to cover a household's own needs. Surplus arises due to an imbalance in the system. At midday, when panels are most active, there is already a surplus of generation in the grid, and the excess from households is not needed. In the evening, however, the EAC supplies electricity to those same households at a cost of around 26 cents per kilowatt-hour, shifting the expense onto all other consumers. The new law not only retains this practice but also adds an additional payment — 11 cents for each kilowatt-hour of excess energy, to be compensated every three years. According to experts, this will further burden the EAC and all consumers without solar panels — that is, more than 300,000 families. Critics stress that the problem requires a systemic solution, not piecemeal populist measures. Since 1 January 2026, the net metering scheme has already been replaced by net billing, reflecting the state's understanding of the need to reform the system. According to them, the passed law exacerbates existing imbalances and creates new risks for energy stability. The president is expected to return the bill for reconsideration. ➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿➿ 🤩FOLLOW CYPRUS NEWS 🇨🇾🇬🇧 👉CYPRUS NEWS IN RUSSIA 🇷🇺