What you pay, to whom, and why.
Chapter 1 of 7
How electricity reaches you.
Electricity first travels along the high-voltage lines. Then the wires of the local network bring it to your meter.
The electricity that turns on your light is made by conventional power stations, by solar parks and by panels on rooftops. From the big stations it travels along the high-voltage lines, the wires on the tall pylons you see on the hills.
Near towns and villages, substations step the voltage down, and that is where the local network begins. Most solar parks and rooftop panels connect to it. In the end, the wires of the local network bring the electricity to the meter of your home or business.
Chapter 2 of 7
The four roles in electricity.
The supplier sells you the electricity and sends you the bill, while the wires and the meter are looked after by the network operators.
Producers make the electricity. The Transmission System Operator of Cyprus (TSO) runs the transmission network, which means the high-voltage lines, and the electricity market. EAC's Distribution System Operator (DSO) runs the local network and reads your meter. For faults, call the DSO on 1800.
The supplier sells you electricity. It sets the price you pay for energy, in other words the tariff, and sends you the bill.
Chapter 3 of 7
Why the price changes through the day.
Suppliers buy electricity wholesale, in a market where the price is set the day before for every half hour.
In the market run by the TSO, producers offer electricity and suppliers buy it wholesale. That is where the price for each half hour of the next day is set, based on supply and demand.
The market opened in October 2025. Since then, in spring and autumn, the midday price has often fallen very low, because solar offers very cheap electricity. In the evening and at night it stays high, because electricity then comes mainly from conventional stations that burn fuel.
When the sun gives more electricity than the system can take, the operators limit (curtail) solar to keep the system safe.
Read more Why solar is curtailed on sunny days →Chapter 4 of 7
What your bill includes.
With your bill you pay for the energy, Network Use and some charges and levies.
On your bill you see several charges, each on its own line. You pay for the energy you use, for Network Use and for other system charges, such as Ancillary Services. VAT is added to the bill too.
Network Use, the system charges and the levies are the same with every supplier. If you change supplier and use the same amount, these amounts do not change.
Energy is the part where suppliers differ. It is the electricity your supplier buys, mostly in the market, and sells to you on its own tariff. What changes from one supplier to another is the price, the way of charging and any fixed charge.
Read more The charges on your bill, one by one →Chapter 5 of 7
Your meter.
A smart meter records your use every half hour. That way the price you pay can change with the time of day.
An old single-rate meter only shows how much you used in total from one reading to the next, which is usually every one or two months. It cannot tell a unit you use at midday from a unit at 20:00.
A smart meter records your use every half hour, which means 48 readings a day. So each unit can be charged at the price of the hour in which you used it.
The data is yours. You have the right to see it for free and to give it to whoever you like.
Read more Get your smart meter data →Chapter 6 of 7
How each unit is charged.
There are three kinds of tariff. Which one suits you depends on when you use electricity.
With one price all day, every unit costs the same whenever you use it. Most EAC tariffs for homes and small businesses work this way.
With time bands, the day is split into cheap and dear hours, set out in the contract. You pay for each unit at the price of the hour you use it.
The law also provides for dynamic pricing: a price of energy that follows the wholesale market and changes every half hour. It does need a smart meter.
In the sunny hours the market price often falls very low, while in the evening it is usually high. If you use electricity mostly in the sunny hours, your bill can be lower with a tariff that follows the market. It can also be lower with time bands, if your tariff has a cheap band in the sunny hours.
Chapter 7 of 7
Choose your supplier.
Since October 2025 you have had the right to choose your supplier. The DSO is still responsible for electricity reaching your home or business reliably.
When you change supplier, what changes is who sells to you, who sets the price you pay and who sends you the bill.
Electricity reaches you through the same wires as before. Network Use and the levies do not change. The DSO is still responsible for your meter, and for faults you call it on 1800.
When you compare offers, look at the price of the energy and how it changes through the day. Also check whether there is a fixed monthly charge, how long you commit for and whether you pay anything if you leave early.
Guides to what you have read.
Here you will find each of these topics in more detail.
Electricity in Cyprus costs you 33.7c per kWh. These are its seven charges.
Behind your bill's total sit seven charges, which reach 33.7c a unit on November 2026 bills.
The grid is switching off your solar.
In Cyprus, more than 65% of potential solar output was curtailed in early 2026, and home solar systems were disconnected up to 17 times a month. What it costs you, and what reduces it.
How the day-ahead market sets prices.
