Two-week wait to find out electricity hike

Consumers will have to wait two more weeks to find out if the Electricity Authority of Cyprus (EAC) hikes its tariffs by 3 per cent, reports said on Tuesday.

The matter of the rate raise was discussed anew in parliament. There, EAC boss Giorgos Petrou confirmed that initially they had asked for a 7.5 increase on electricity bills – something which the energy regulator accepted at the time.

Of this proposed raise, the 5 per cent related to the year 2023, and the 2.5 per cent to 2025. Asked why 2024 was not included in the proposal, Petrou explained that the EAC does not yet have audited accounts for that year so they cannot make a request.

Later, Petrou said, once President Nikos Christodoulides intervened publicly on the issue, the EAC came back with a revised proposal for just a 3 per cent hike.

That is now being considered by the energy regulatory authority (Cera).

According to news outlet Stockwatch, the regulator should take a decision on the EAC’s request for a 3 per cent raise within the fortnight.

If approved, the actual increase on bills would come to 3.27 per cent – the 3 per cent plus the nine per cent VAT.

For his part, Cera chairman Polyvios Lemonaris said the EAC’s request – once it’s filed – for a tariff hike for the year 2024 would likely get rolled over to 2026.

As a regulated entity, the state-run power corporation is permitted a return on capital, colloquially known as a “legitimate profit margin”, of 4.66 per cent. This is borne in mind when its expenses and requests for tariff increases are filed.

Normally the EAC goes through this routine every two years. It submits its expenses for review to the energy regulator, and the latter either signs off and approves a rate readjustment, or makes amendments. The regulator has the final say.

Lemonaris explained that the expenses submitted for review are those which the EAC has paid for in the preceding period and for items that are in use or operational.

Also on Tuesday, MPs heard that in 2023 the EAC posted a €36 million profit, after tax. No figures are available yet for 2024.

Data furnished by the regulator showed that for the years 2022 through to 2024, the purchase of fuel and greenhouse gas emissions allowances accounted for 88 per cent of the EAC’s total operating cost.