How to Read Your EAC Bill With Solar Panels in Cyprus

The first EAC bill after a solar installation is the one our customers phone us about most. Some expected a zero and got €90. Others see two meter readings where there used to be one, a column of "credit units" they do not recognise, or a letter E next to a number and no explanation.

None of it is hard to follow once you know what each line measures. The catch is that the bill looks different depending on whether your system is on the old net metering scheme or on Net Billing, which every new system has joined since 1 January 2026. The same two readings lead to very different totals under each.

This guide walks through a solar customer's EAC bill section by section, shows how the total is worked out under both schemes, and lists the usual reasons a bill comes in higher than expected.

The two readings: import and export

Before solar, your meter counted one thing: electricity coming into the house. When your system was connected, the EAC replaced it with a bidirectional meter that keeps two separate registers.

• Import (incoming energy): kilowatt-hours drawn from the grid. This is your evening and night use, plus any daytime use your panels could not cover.
• Export (outgoing energy): kilowatt-hours your system pushed onto the grid because the house was not using them at that moment.

Both appear on the bill as a previous reading, a current reading and the difference for the billing period, which is normally two months. If you are on a day/night tariff, the import side may be split into two registers as well.

What the bill does not show is the energy your panels produced and you used straight away. That self-consumed electricity never passes through the meter, so the EAC never sees it. It is still the most valuable part of your system, because every one of those units is a unit you did not buy at the full retail price of roughly €0.29 to €0.32 per kWh all-in (our guide to electricity prices in Cyprus breaks that price down).

To see your real production, use the inverter app, not the bill. Production minus export equals what the house used directly from the roof.

Reading a net metering bill

If your system was approved before net metering closed to new applications, you are still on net metering under your existing contract. The bill works in kilowatt-hours, not euros.

• Net consumption: for each billing period the EAC subtracts export from import. If you imported 1,100 kWh and exported 800 kWh, you are billed for 300 kWh at the normal tariff.
• Credit units brought forward: if you exported more than you imported, the surplus is carried forward as kWh credit and used against later bills. A sunny summer usually builds credit that is then drawn down in winter.
• Grid-use charge: net metering customers pay a small per-kWh charge for using the network, in place of the fixed annual charge per installed kW that applied before 2020. It is a few cents per kWh and shows as its own line.
• Levies and VAT: the regulated charges and VAT still apply to the energy you are billed for, so a small bill is normal even in a good month.

The 36-month credit clearing

Since a 2023 change to the scheme, kWh credits on household net metering accounts cannot be held indefinitely. Surplus credit older than 36 months is cancelled without payment. The first clearing hit bills in February and March 2026, and many customers only noticed when the "credit units brought forward" line went to zero.

If your bill shows a large balance building up year after year, that is a sign your system produces more than your house uses. Under net metering that surplus is now partly wasted. A battery will not change the clearing rule, but adding a daytime load (an electric water heater on a timer, an EV charger, a heat pump) puts that surplus to use before it expires.

Reading a Net Billing bill

Every system connected from 1 January 2026 is on Net Billing. The meter readings look the same, but the two registers are valued separately and the bill works in euros.

• Imported energy: charged at your normal retail tariff, with the energy charge, fuel adjustment, network charges, levies and VAT all applied as they would be for a household without solar.
• Exported energy: credited in euros at a much lower rate set under the CERA framework and published by the EAC. Recently it has been around €0.09 to €0.11 per kWh.
• Net amount: the export credit is deducted from the import charges. If the credit is larger, the remaining euro balance carries forward to the next bill.
• Annual clearing: the account is settled once a year in autumn, and any credit left after that final clearing is wiped.

The important thing to notice is that an exported kWh and an imported kWh no longer cancel each other out. Export a kWh at noon and buy one back at 9pm and you are roughly €0.20 out of pocket. That is why two Net Billing households with identical systems can have very different bills: what matters is how much of the production the house uses in daylight.

A worked example

Here is an illustrative two-month bill for a family home in Larnaca with a 6 kW system on Net Billing, using round numbers so the arithmetic is easy to follow. Your own tariff, export rate and charges will differ.

• Solar production (from the inverter app): about 1,700 kWh over the two months.
• Exported (meter): 900 kWh, so 800 kWh went straight into the house.
• Imported (meter): 1,000 kWh, mostly evenings and air conditioning after sunset.
• Import cost: 1,000 kWh × about €0.30 all-in = roughly €300.
• Export credit: 900 kWh × €0.10 = €90.
• Amount due: roughly €210.

Without solar this house would have bought all 1,800 kWh, about €540. So the system saved roughly €330 in the period, and most of that (€240) came from the 800 kWh used directly, not from the €90 export credit.

Now suppose a 10 kWh battery is added and absorbs 600 kWh of that export to cover evening use. Export falls to 300 kWh (€30 credit), import falls to 400 kWh (€120), and the bill drops to about €90. The production did not change. Only where it went changed. Our battery storage guide covers sizing and costs, and the Net Billing explainer goes through the scheme rules in more detail.

Why your bill went up even with solar

When a customer sends us a bill that looks wrong, it is usually one of these.

• An estimated reading. A letter E next to a reading means the EAC estimated it rather than reading the meter. Estimates for solar homes are often badly off because the pattern of import and export is hard to guess. You can submit your own readings through the EAC website, and a corrected bill follows once the real reading is taken.
• The season. Winter production in Cyprus is roughly half of summer production, and the days are short when heating and lighting loads are highest. A December bill will be higher than an August one even if nothing is wrong.
• Evening-heavy use. Under Net Billing, a household that runs the dishwasher, washing machine and water heater after dark imports at full price and exports at the low rate. The panels are working; the timing is not.
• Credit cleared. Net metering customers who lost accumulated credit in the 36-month clearing, or Net Billing customers after the autumn settlement, can see a jump in the next bill that has nothing to do with the system.
• The system stopped producing. An inverter fault, a tripped isolator or a lost Wi-Fi connection can stop production for weeks without anyone noticing. If export on the bill suddenly drops close to zero in a sunny period, check the inverter first.
• The billing period is longer. Bills cover roughly two months, but the exact number of days varies. Compare kWh per day, not totals.

Checking your bill against your system

A five-minute check every billing period catches most problems early:

1. Note the dates on the bill and pull the production total for the same dates from your inverter app.
2. Compare export. The meter's export figure should be lower than total production. If the bill shows more export than the app shows production, one of the readings is wrong.
3. Work out self-consumption: production minus export. Divide by production to get your self-consumption share. Under Net Billing, a share below about 40% without a battery usually means there is room to move loads into daylight.
4. Look for an E next to any reading, and submit actual readings if you see one.
5. Compare kWh per day with the same period last year rather than the euro total, since tariffs and the fuel adjustment move from month to month.

If production in the app has dropped compared with the same month last year, the panels may need cleaning or there may be a fault. Our maintenance and monitoring service covers exactly this, and our article on how much electricity solar panels produce in Cyprus gives monthly output figures to compare against.

When to call the EAC and when to call your installer

Billing questions (estimated readings, credit balances, tariff changes, a clearing you do not understand) go to the EAC on 8000 6000. Have your account number and a photo of the meter display ready.

Questions about production, export levels or whether the system is working properly go to whoever installed it. If you are a Smart Solar Cyprus customer, send us a photo of the bill and we will check it against your inverter data. If you are on Net Billing and the bill is not falling the way you expected, we can look at your consumption pattern and tell you whether a battery or a change in timing would help, with the numbers from your own bill. See how we handle net metering and Net Billing applications, try the solar savings calculator, or ask for a free assessment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do I have two readings on my EAC bill after installing solar?

Your meter now records energy in both directions. The import reading is electricity you drew from the grid; the export reading is surplus your panels sent to the grid. Under net metering the two are subtracted in kWh. Under Net Billing the import is charged at the retail tariff and the export is credited in euros at a lower rate.

Why is my electricity bill not zero with solar panels?

Your panels do not cover evening and night use, so you still import from the grid. Under net metering you also pay a small grid-use charge, levies and VAT. Under Net Billing every imported kWh costs the full retail price while exported kWh earn only around €0.09 to €0.11, so a zero bill is rare unless most of your use happens in daylight or you have a battery.

What does the letter E mean on my EAC bill?

It means the reading was estimated rather than taken from your meter. For solar homes estimates are often inaccurate. Submit an actual reading through the EAC website or customer service, and the next bill will correct the difference.

Do net metering credits expire in Cyprus?

Yes. Surplus kWh credits on household net metering accounts are cancelled after 36 months without payment. The first clearing appeared on bills in February and March 2026. Using more of your surplus during the day is the practical way to avoid losing it.

How is exported solar energy paid under Net Billing?

It is credited in euros on your bill at an export rate set under the CERA framework and published by the EAC, recently around €0.09 to €0.11 per kWh. The credit is deducted from your import charges, any balance carries forward, and leftover credit is wiped at the annual clearing in autumn.