Newsroom
Households still using electric storage heaters are facing higher electricity costs following the end of a subsidy that the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) had maintained for almost a decade.
The change took effect on 1 May 2026 after the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) ended the preferential treatment for the storage-heater tariff. Consumers will now be charged at the standard electricity rate applicable to their premises.
The issue dates back to 2017, when Cyprus introduced a new tariff structure based on the principle that consumers should pay the actual cost of the electricity they use, without cross-subsidisation between different tariffs.
At the time, the storage-heater tariff was expected to increase by about 49%. Rather than passing the full increase on to consumers immediately, the EAC agreed to absorb the difference while households were given time to consider alternative heating systems.
That arrangement continued for years and only came to an end after Cyprus' competitive electricity market officially opened on 1 October 2025. The EAC has now said it can no longer continue subsidising the tariff.
The financial impact will depend on each household's consumption, but the change is particularly relevant to consumers who continue to rely heavily on storage heaters for winter heating.
The EAC had previously encouraged affected consumers to consider other heating options as the preferential tariff was being phased out.
Solar users given an alternative
There is, however, a potential way for households with both storage heaters and photovoltaic systems to reduce the impact of the change.
Following a CERA decision, consumers with storage heaters and solar panels can apply to offset the electricity consumed by their storage heaters against energy generated by their photovoltaic systems.
Affected consumers must complete the relevant application form and submit a request for the offsetting arrangement.
The EAC said it recently informed affected consumers about the tariff change and stressed that it had absorbed a significant cost on their behalf from 2017 until the subsidy ended.
The end of the subsidy marks another step in Cyprus' transition towards a more market-based electricity system, while leaving households that still depend on storage heaters to reassess the cost of their heating.
