Evaluation of Cyprus's competitive electricity market model seven months after implementation

Seven months following the October 1, 2025, implementation of the European target model for electricity in Cyprus, the system has failed to deliver promised price reductions and competition. Eurostat data for the second half of 2025 indicates that Cyprus ranks as the second most expensive country in the European Union for non-household electricity consumers. The primary structural issue cited is the lack of adaptation of the European model to Cyprus's small, isolated, and underdeveloped energy market, which currently lacks storage systems and regional interconnections. The Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) continues to control over 90% of energy production. Consequently, wholesale electricity prices are persistently set by the most expensive conventional EAC production units. While renewable energy sources account for approximately 26% of total annual demand, their actual daily wholesale market participation remains constrained between 4% and 7%. Experts emphasize that revising this market framework is now a matter of economic and social necessity.