Overview of the national policy framework for energy communities

According to the Energy Communities Repository (ECR), Cyprus has included provisions for both Renewable Energy Communities (RECs) and Citizen Energy Communities (CECs) in their national legislation. Law 130(I)/2021 for the Regulation of the Electricity Market has been published transposing the provisions of the Electricity Directive 2019/944. This Law includes a definition for CECs and RECs and lays down the responsibilities of the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA), one of which is to draft an enabling framework for CECs with regulatory decisions so that they are able to participate in the market without discrimination. The Renewables Directive (RED II) has been partly transposed with the Law 107(I)/2022 on the Promotion and Encouragement of the Use of Renewable Energy Sources. This Law includes the definition of RECs and mentions that CERA should draft regulations setting an enabling framework for RECs. CERA is also mentioned in the law as the responsible body to conduct the assessment for barriers and potential for RECs in Cyprus and it should also take the specificities of RECs into account when developing support schemes.

Taking into account the results of a public consultation that closed on the 1st of July 2024, the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) published on the 15th of November 2024, the "Regulatory Framework for the Promotion and Facilitation of the Development of Citizen Energy Communities and Renewable Energy Communities" in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Cyprus, hereby referred to as the 2024 regulatory act. The objective of the 2024 regulatory act is to introduce an enabling framework for:

a) the establishment, operation and participation of CECs in all electricity markets, in line with the national Law 130(I)/2021 for the Regulation of the Electricity Market; and

b) for the establishment, operation and participation of RECs in all appropriate energy markets in accordance with the national Law 107(I)/2022 on the Promotion and Encouragement of the Use of Renewable Energy Sources.

Last updated: May 2025