On 29 January 2025, ideopsis and the Cyprus Association of Renewable Energy Enterprises (SEAPEK) co-hosted a workshop on the development of Energy Communities in Cyprus. The event aimed to inform stakeholders and interested participants about the prospects and challenges of Energy Communities, particularly in light of the regulatory framework published by the Cyprus Energy Regulatory Authority (CERA) in November 2024.

The president of SEAPEK, Mr. Fanos Karantonis and the Director of the Energy Service of the Ministry of Energy, Commerce and Industry, Mr. Charalambos Rousos, addressed the event, highlighting the importance of Energy Communities and the benefits they can offer.

The event featured a series of insightful presentations, covering regulatory and legal aspects, best practices from other EU countries, and a real-world example of an Energy Community in Greece. CERA Energy Engineer, Mrs. Christina Zouvani, provided an overview of the new established regulatory framework explaining key provisions aimed at facilitating the establishment and operation of Energy Communities. Legal perspectives were presented by Advocate Alexandros Demetriades of Costas P. Demetriades LLC, who examined the various legal forms available for Energy Communities, detailing their implications in terms of governance, membership rights, and financial viability under the Cypriot Law.

Expanding the discussion beyond Cyprus, Dr. Anna Artemi, Energy Policy Expert at ideopsis, presented promising practices from other EU member states, while Mr. Dimitris Kitsikopoulos, Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Greek Energy Community ‘CommonEn’, shared the experiences, achievements, and challenges faced by his organisation.

The workshop concluded with an open discussion, during which the panel addressed topics such as Energy Community financing, government support, grid connection technical aspects and the development of viable entities under the current legal framework.

The new regulatory framework requires any necessary amendments to the Electricity Market Rules and Transmission Rules, as well as revisions or modifications to the Distribution Rules, to ensure unimpeded access for Energy Communities to energy markets within nine months from the effective date of the corresponding Regulatory Decision. These technical amendments are expected to facilitate the integration of Energy Communities into the electricity grid.

ideopsis acknowledges and supports the development of Energy Communities in Cyprus by providing or preparing to provide services such as viability assessments, as well as legal and capacity-related support.