State agencies and officials on Tuesday welcomed in principle proposed legislation that would bar shutting down solar panels, but the fly in the ointment was that affected households and businesses would have to pay for it.

Under a bill tabled by Disy MP Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis, cutting off photovoltaic systems – those used for own electricity consumption, not commercial solar parks – would be prohibited.

However in parliament, state officials said that the technical costs involved of making this happen would have to be borne by the affected households and small businesses.

Giorgos Petrou, head of the Electricity Authority of Cyprus, said his organisation supports the idea if it’s technically feasible.

And he estimated the cost of the necessary conversions to photovoltaic systems at anywhere from €800 to €1000 per unit.

At this point, the head of the Association of Renewable Energy Enterprises interjected, countering that the conversion should cost €150 at most.

Fanos Karantonis was referring to the installation of what’s known as ‘zero injection’, or a zero discharge inverter. Its function is to modulate the operation of the solar panel so that it does not generate more energy than is required.

Officials from the ministries of energy and finance likewise said they were in agreement in principle.

But Stavros Stavrinos, of the Transmission System Operator (TSO) cautioned that any such move must not adversely impact the smooth functioning of the grid.

He insisted that the TSO retain control over any changes, as the text of the bill does not specify this.

If the TSO does not have control, it will be unable to deal with emergencies.

For its part, while agreeing with the proposed legislation, the energy regulator suggested this was a quick fix – problems with cutbacks to renewables-powered systems would be truly resolved with storage systems.

The consumers association opined that any arrangements made must not further financially burden households.

Hadjyiannis’ bill aims to ensure consumers’ right to “seamless own consumption of energy generated from renewable sources” without posing risks to the transmission and distribution systems.

The disconnections to PV systems have led to rising bills, forcing many to question the long-term viability of their solar investments.

The root cause lies in Cyprus’ isolated electrical grid. Unlike other European nations that can export surplus solar power, Cyprus must balance energy supply and demand in real-time, leading to disruptions when solar energy generation exceeds consumption.

Last week the energy regulator said that currently there operate power stations using conventional fuel – diesel or heavy fuel oil – with a total installed capacity of 1,483 megawatts (MW).

Regarding power from renewables, total installed capacity from wind parks comes to 157.5 MW; another 377 MW from commercial solar parks; 464 MW from own-use photovoltaic systems; and 12.3 MW from systems using biomass.