Abbreviated form of legal source(s)
● Support Scheme for RES for own consumption 2020
● EAC Net-Billing Technical Guide
● CERA Decision 28/2020
Description of support scheme
Under the Support Scheme for RES for own consumption 2020, all natural and legal persons can connect PV (rooftop or ground-mounted) and/or biomass/biogas installations under a net-billing scheme. The current 2020 call is open for new applications until 30 July 2021.
Amount
Net-billing follows a similar concept to that of net-metering. The main difference lies in the fact that under a net-billing scheme, the difference in injected and consumed electricity is calculated based on the bills for consumed and injected electricity. In order to generate two separate bills, two meters are installed (the one measuring injected electricity and the other one consumed electricity) In comparison in net-metering scheme the injected electricity is counted as 1:1 to consumed electricity and the user pays for the difference. As in net-metering, the electricity generated by the RES installation covers the needs of a building/house on which it is installed and any surplus is fed into the grid. If the electricity generation is not enough to cover the needs of the buildings, then the buildings can be supplied from the grid. The bill offsetting (bill for imported energy and bill for exported energy) is realized once every two months or each month for each calendar year (depending on the geographical region) by EAC or by any other electricity supplier. Any surplus will be transferred in the next two months or next month. Otherwise, any deficits will be invoiced. The deficits include the price of electricity imported along with other related fees (grid usage fees, Public Utilities Obligation, Consumption fees and taxes) (CERA Decision 28/2020). The final account (bills of February- March) of the calendar year is the final settlement while any electricity surplus from bills cannot be carried over from one calendar year to the next (Chapter 9 EAC Net-Billing Technical Guide).
Addressees
All natural and legal persons based in Cyprus are eligible (Chapter 5.1 Support Scheme for RES for own consumption 2020).
Procedure
Interested applicants submit their application to EAC or Cyprus TSO (for RES with installed capacity above 8MW). EAC/ TSO Cyprus examines the application and if approved a net-billing contract is signed. The applicant should realise the installation and connection of the RES installation within 12 months (Chapter 21 EAC Net-Billing Technical Guide).
Competent authority
● EAC
● TSO Cyprus