One month's salary just to keep the lights on?

Ensuring an adequate electricity supply during the summer is undoubtedly the top priority for consumers, who want to avoid a repeat of last year's rolling power cuts during periods of peak demand. But even if Cyprus' electricity system manages to withstand the intense pressure caused by extreme weather conditions, consumers will still have to dig deep into their pockets to maintain comfortable living conditions for much of the day.

The lack of affordable electricity, due to years of shortcomings by successive governments and the authorities, means household budgets will come under even greater strain, with electricity bills taking up a significant share of annual expenses. Even during periods when the government stepped in to ease electricity bills, the cost has remained particularly high, with Cyprus continuing to rank among the six most expensive EU countries for electricity.

However, Cyprus' true position in terms of energy costs relative to incomes is revealed through monthly Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) bills. Based on real data analyzed by Kathimerini from 2023 through today, presented in detail in Table A, the findings show that, in absolute terms, the average household spends the equivalent of one median monthly salary each year to cover its electricity needs. This is well above the EU average.

What we pay for electricity

Government intervention in EAC electricity tariffs since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war has slowed the rise in electricity prices, but it has not solved the underlying problem.

This is the conclusion drawn from data obtained and analyzed by Kathimerini covering the period from January 1, 2023, to June 2026. The overall finding is that electricity in Cyprus remains an essential commodity whose use is increasingly determined by each household's financial means, particularly during challenging periods such as summer and winter.

As Michalis Persianis, chairman of Cyprus' Fiscal Council, points out:

"Gradually, household electricity prices (the Eurostat DC median price band, regarded as the representative household price) have become increasingly expensive, despite occasional fluctuations. The long-term trend clearly shows rising costs per kilowatt-hour. The burden on households has also continued to increase steadily, again despite temporary fluctuations."

Even during periods of relative stability in international markets, the price of electricity in Cyprus has, in some cases, approached €0.40 per kilowatt-hour.

The figures behind the costs

In an effort to document the high cost of electricity in Cyprus with concrete evidence, Kathimerini analyzed three and a half years of actual EAC billing data.

Using reliable digital tools to calculate electricity costs in Cyprus, based on the monthly bills received by consumers, the newspaper calculated month by month how much electricity costs household budgets. The analysis covers 2023, 2024, 2025 and the first six months of 2026.

The calculations are based on an average monthly electricity consumption of 400 kilowatt-hours.

As shown in Table A, annual electricity costs have followed a downward trend as a result of successive government interventions through reductions in VAT, from the standard rate of 19% to 9%, and more recently to 5% for all households.

According to Table A, in 2023, following the first government intervention in electricity bills (introduced in November 2021 for vulnerable households and expanded to all consumers in April 2022 in response to the Russia-Ukraine crisis), the annual electricity bill for an average household amounted to €1,882.

This fell to €1,706 in 2024, €1,544 in 2025, and €864 during the first half of 2026. If this trend continues, annual costs this year are expected to exceed €1,700.

Taking into account that electricity costs in 2024, 2025 and 2026 were shaped by temporary government support measures and therefore do not fully reflect market conditions, 2023 provides the clearest picture. That year, the annual cost of electricity exceeded one median monthly salary in Cyprus, which, according to Eurostat data shown in Table B, stood at €1,604.

A similar picture emerges in 2024. For the following two years, government measures reduced annual electricity costs to below the median monthly salary, though they remained above the EU average.

Above the EU average

Even under the most favorable scenario in 2025 and 2026, comparisons with the EU average remain sobering.

As shown in Table B, using Eurostat data, the differences are immediately apparent. While the gap between the median salary in Cyprus and the EU average has remained relatively small since 2023, annual electricity costs show much larger differences.

Compared with the EU average, Cyprus households paid €468 more in 2023, €341 more in 2024, €122 more in 2025 and €167 more in 2026.

According to Eurostat data published on April 29, 2026, Cyprus ranks as the ninth most expensive country in the European Union for household electricity when adjusted for purchasing power.

Timeline of government intervention

Reducing VAT on electricity bills has been the government's main response during periods of international crises.

Since 2020, the first VAT reduction, from 19% to 9%, was introduced in November 2021 and applied to vulnerable households.

In April 2022, the measure was extended to all residential consumers as support following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The VAT reduction was reintroduced in April 2025 for one year before being extended for another year.

The latest extension took effect on May 1, 2026, and will remain in force until March 2027.

Under this extension, VAT was reduced further, from 9% to 5%, with the lower rate applying to all residential electricity bills.