Newsroom
Former Cypriot MEP and doctor Eleni Theocharous has sparked fresh debate over Cyprus’s solar energy system after accusing authorities and energy officials of misleading the public about the benefits of household photovoltaics.
In a social media post that quickly drew attention online, Theocharous said her home solar system is being shut down almost daily during peak sunlight hours — the very period when panels are supposed to produce the most electricity.
“Every day from 9:30 in the morning until 4:00 in the afternoon, my photovoltaic system is cut off and production drops to zero,” she wrote, adding sarcastically that the system seems to remain active “only when it’s cloudy.”
Theocharous said she had lost around 10,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity production over the past three years because of the shutdowns, while still receiving electricity bills from the Electricity Authority of Cyprus.
She said her latest two-month bill came to €181.70 despite living alone.
“If this is not deception of the people, then there is no reason for any reaction,” she wrote, criticizing what many homeowners increasingly describe as a flawed solar energy system.
Her comments tap into a growing frustration among households across Cyprus who invested thousands of euros in rooftop solar panels expecting major savings, only to discover that systems are frequently curtailed or disconnected from the grid during periods of high electricity production.
The issue has become especially sensitive as Cyprus continues pushing renewable energy while also facing some of the highest electricity prices in Europe.
Many consumers say they were encouraged to install photovoltaic systems as a way to reduce costs and help the environment but now feel trapped between expensive installation costs, grid limitations, and continued high bills.
In follow-up comments, Theocharous suggested that excess electricity from homes with surplus production could instead be redirected to refugee housing or vulnerable families.
“There are many who would want to do that,” she wrote, implying that bureaucracy and regulations are preventing more practical solutions.
The controversy reflects a wider problem Cyprus has struggled with in recent years: the island is producing increasing amounts of solar energy, but its electricity grid has not modernized fast enough to fully handle the extra power.
As a result, operators sometimes cut off residential solar systems to prevent pressure on the network, a reality many consumers say was never clearly explained when they invested in photovoltaics.
For many Cypriots, especially families already struggling with the cost of living, the situation feels deeply frustrating.
After years of being told solar energy was the smart financial future, some homeowners now say they are producing less electricity precisely when the Cyprus sun is strongest and still opening bills they thought photovoltaics would largely eliminate.
