Solar Credits carried forward being cancelled in Feb / March 2026?

[mark4007]

Those with solar panels receive electricity bills that traditionally show credit units brought forward and credit units carried forward.

Electricity bills for February 2026 do not show surplus credits being carried forward. (They continue to show the credit units being brought forward)

It appears that the EAC is zeroing out surplus credits on the February (and I assume on the March bills) in the way they used to prior to 2023.

This will have a big impact on the amount of the electric bills of those with solar panels particularly in April / May 2026.

Has anyone heard of seen any public statement on this matter or does anyone have any further info?

[mark4007]

I have used the online complaints form provided on the EAC website

https://www.eac.com.cy/EN/RegulatedActi ... aints.aspx

And complained as below. If anyone else feels strongly about this then I suggest they make similar complaints to the EAC

My electricity bill for the period ended XX February 2026 does not show the amount of Credit Units (KWh) carried forward.

I phoned the EAC and was told that my credits had all been cancelled on this bill and I would start from zero again. I asked why this was and was told this was happening for everyone in February and March. I asked if there was any documentation about this change and I was told it was on the website but the operator did not know where. I was then told that the this was a decision of the government but again the operator did not know which decision.

I stated that I had an agreement with the EAC (the net metering electricity agreement) in which it is stated in Greek that

“It is clarified that there will be no final clearing of surpluses (if any) on the last bill of a twelve-month time period, but these surpluses will be carried over to the next billing period”

The EAC appear to be in breach of that agreement.

My complaint is that my bill should show the amount of credits being carried forward and that if the EAC is carrying out any clearing of the surpluses then that is in breach of the Agreement that both the EAC and I have signed.

I look forward to hearing your response to my complaint.

[Dominic]

I thought the slate was wiped each year.

[mark4007]

Nope

The agreement specifically states it will not be wiped clear

And it hasn’t been since 2023

This is a clear contravention of the agreement the EAC signed up to.

In addition the EAC is trying to do this without telling anyone.

It will costs some hundreds of euros in the bills for April / May

[Jimgym]

I have been told by my neighbour who works for EAC that the credits are wiped every 3 years. Not sure if this is accurate but he mentioned it the other day.

[N holleran]

Sent compliant in, see if i get a reply.

[mark4007]

I have been told by my neighbour who works for EAC that the credits are wiped every 3 years. Not sure if this is accurate but he mentioned it the other day.

Very interesting .. but this is the first time that they have done it (it wasn’t wiped clear in 2023)

What EAC is doing is underhand and deceitful.. they haven’t told anyone they are doing it and they are not telling anyone that their credits are being wiped out in their Feb / March bills.

For some they will get a bill for 400-600 euros in April / May 2026 without any warning

It’s a disgrace

Anyone got any further info?

[trevnhil]

Re "For some they will get a bill for 400-600 euros in April / May 2026 without any warning"

They must be heavy users of electricity to be using up to 600 euros worth plus all that their panels are producing in two months

[sunspot]

Remarkable that EAC is permitted to do this without any protest from government, the public or the press. Nothing in Cyprus Mail. Constant curtailment is bad enough. Wiping credits already accumulated is in clear contravention and is effectively theft. EAC cannot claim that they are doing it because of ‘weaknesses in the grid’ as they do with curtailment.

[Dominic]

Thing I don't understand is people are moaning about curtailment, but it cannot be that bad if you have generated sufficient credit to care whether your leftover has been wiped.

[sunspot]

Some people have many credits, others only a few. We are in the latter group and we are frugal with our electricity use. It seems that soon, despite our investment in solar panels, we will be paying the ‘dirty fuel fee’. Developments over the last year have made our investment seem foolish.

[Dominic]

If your investment in solar panels means that your electricity bill is less than without panels, then over time it will pay dividends. Our panels have paid for themself at least twice over since we had them installed about 9 years ago.

[WHL]

Ive had panels for a couple of years now, and from day one my bills have gone down from two to three hundred to twenty to thirty euro, that will do for me.

[N holleran]

Yes but this Post is about the EAC ZEROING out our credits,this what Mark4007 is saying so you will be paying more on your next bills, we know they are a great investment especially for us who have had them installed before the EAC brought the curtailment system in. Plus if someone nicked 3 or 4 hundred units off you i think would be calling the police?

[trevnhil]

Even with the EAC zeroing your credit, you will not be paying any more if the sunshine makes more electricity than you are using during the two months following your bill

[Dominic]

Yes but this Post is about the EAC ZEROING out our credits,this what Mark4007 is saying so you will be paying more on your next bills, we know they are a great investment especially for us who have had them installed before the EAC brought the curtailment system in. Plus if someone nicked 3 or 4 hundred units off you i think would be calling the police?

When I got our panels the zeroing occurred every year at the start. If you recall, Max used to post telling everybody to use up their surplus before it disappeared. I had assumed the practice was still continuing, so to hear it now only happens once every three years is a plus.

The fact remains though that people have been moaning about the curtailments and are now moaning about loss of surplus. The surplus implies that the curtailment doesn't have the negative effect they have been claiming. IE if they are still getting a surplus then the curtailment is irrelevent.

[mark4007]

Dominic, looks like you got panels on the basis that you would be zeroed every year and you do not have the kill switch. Fair enough, you do not have your inverter switched off on an increasingly regular basis.

But for those who got the panels in say 2024, they signed a contract saying there would be no zeroing and historically there was little curtailment for domestic consumers. They then get to March 2025 and the kill switch is regularly being used to turn their inverters off. At that point they did not have much if any surplus. They modified their behaviour and felt aggrieved.

After pressure from MPs the government promised to do something about it.
Then we get to 2026. No press, no announcements. The EAC just zero credits and don’t even let people know they have done it when they send out the Feb 2026 bills..

The grid scale batteries promised in 2025 to reduce curtailments have not been installed. There is a massive surge in the number of people who have solar PV.

The people with the Kill switch will have their inverters turned off far more frequently in 2026 than 2025 and with no surplus to soften the blow many will find that their bills in April/ May are a lot more than they were expecting.

The knock on effect will be a feeling that the EAC is not playing fair.

Most people I know that have the kill switch let it do its job. But some reboot their systems when the EAC stops their inverter so that they can continue to generate electricity. Its relatively easy to do and the chances of being caught are minimal if you don’t have a smart meter. I don’t condone it but I do understand why people do this.

This year I think more people are going to reboot their inverters as compared with last year. In effect you’ll have a battle with the EAC hitting the Kill switch and prosumers by passing it. This will make it harder for the EAC to balance the system.

So yep.. its fine for those who installed PV with one set of rules to be relaxed about curtailments and zeroing of credits.

But for those who installed PV much latter and on the understanding that there would be no zeroing of credits and limited (if any) curtailment, the latest antics by the EAC are going to lead to real anger.

[mark4007]

I have received the following response from the EAC following my complaint.



Dear Customer,
 
The Amendment of the Scheme below applies to all PV-Contracts (Net Metering & Virtual NM),regardless of their date of signature.
 
According to the Amendment of the existing Scheme of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry of Cyprus, “SCHEME FOR THE PRODUCTION OF ELECTRICITY FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES FOR OWN CONSUMPTION,” dated March 2023, the deletion of surplus energy credits of our customers who are enrolled in the Net Metering Scheme has begun.
 
The Council of Ministers approved a new Scheme for the production of electricity from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) for self-consumption, with an effective date of 2 April 2023.
 
The main amendments are as follows:
 
• NET METERING AND VIRTUAL NET METERING SCHEMES
 
1. Any surplus electricity will be deleted without compensation in the event of termination of the premises’ electricity supply, expiration of the Contract duration without renewal, as well as in cases of change of Supplier.
2. It is reminded that, in cases of transfer from one customer to another, any surplus electricity is not deleted but is transferred to the next account of the premises, in accordance with the provisions of the Amending Contract signed between the contracting parties.
3. It is also reminded that surplus electricity will not be deleted on the final bill of a twelve-month period (February or March), but will be carried forward for use in the next billing period (next month or two-month period), for a total period of 36 months. On the final bill of the 36-month period, any remaining surplus will be reset to zero. The next clearing of surpluses will take place in February–March 2026 and will be implemented every three years thereafter (i.e. 2029, 2032, etc.). The final clearing of surpluses every three years (36 months), for all PV systems that have joined the Net Metering and Virtual Net Metering categories, applies to all systems regardless of the period in which they were connected to the grid and put into operation.
 
For more information about the modified scheme, please follow the link below:
 
LINK: https://www.energy.gov.cy/en/press-room ... /?ctype=ar
 
 
Best Regards
 

[trevnhil]

So Mark, you now have your official answer, and as you can see it applies to everyone

[mark4007]

OK so there is a lot to take in here..

The first and most obvious is that something went on that was not publicized but that imposes this 36 month rule. EAC have then compounded this by not telling anyone what they were doing.

The second thing is that this response from EAC puts their own spin on what was decided. It shows how they are going to carry out this 36 month cut off and presents it as that what was decided. This is misleading as from what I can see on the websites that are referred to the main changes (in so far as they apply to us) were

"Any production surpluses will be carried over to the next billing period for a total period of 36 months. In the last bill of the 36 months, any surpluses will be zeroed"

So there is a difference here between what is on the websites and what is included in the email.

In particular for those that have had a PV system for less than 36 months its a big difference. There looks like a good argument that the zeroing can only be carried out after 36 months and not at some arbitrary date beforehand.

If anyone wanted to fight this they probably should get at the actual wording of what was decided 3 years ago.

The third thing is I am really impressed as to how quickly the EAC responded to this complaint and actually gave a proper answer within a tight timeframe.

Our system was put in place over 3 years ago and whilst I could argue about how you carry out the zeroing and the lack of publicity, in reality for us, the mechanics of when and how you do the zeroing doesn't make that much of an impact. At most its gonna cost of an extra 100-200 euros depending on how much energy we use and how much we generate between now and mid april. And it will be roughly the same in 3 years time. I might try and get the our billing period changed to March.. but its probably more hassle than its worth..

As far as our personal circumstances are concerned the actual zeroing of the credits themselves never worried me. It was all about the lack of publicity as to what was going on, the impact for those with the kill switch installed and the impact on the our next bill in April 2026.