Household electricity prices in Cyprus fell to €0.26 per kilowatt-hour in the first half of 2026, according to Eurostat data, easing from their energy-crisis peak but remaining significantly above pre-crisis levels as electricity costs continue to weigh on consumers.

The latest figures show that prices, including all taxes and levies, have declined steadily since reaching €0.37 per kilowatt-hour in the first half of 2023, although households are still paying considerably more than they did before the energy crisis.

When adjusted for differences in purchasing power, Cyprus recorded 29.9 purchasing power standard (PPS) units per 100 kilowatt-hours in the first half of 2026, providing an indication of the relative burden of electricity costs on households.

Across the European Union, average household electricity prices fell by 2.2 per cent in the first half of 2026, declining to €0.28 per kilowatt-hour from €0.29 in the second half of 2025.

Despite the decrease, prices remained well above levels recorded before the 2022 energy crisis, indicating that households continued to face higher electricity costs than before the energy market turmoil.

Taxes and levies also declined slightly as a proportion of household electricity bills, falling by 0.5 percentage points, from 28.9 per cent in the second half of 2025 to 28.4 per cent in the first half of 2026.

Cyprus electricity prices peaked in 2023

Eurostat data show that household electricity prices in Cyprus followed a relatively stable pattern between 2015 and 2020, before surging during the energy crisis and subsequently easing.

During the initial period, prices fluctuated between €0.15 per kilowatt-hour in the first half of 2016 and €0.22 in the second half of 2019, before falling to €0.16 in the second half of 2020.

The subsequent energy crisis brought a sharp increase in household electricity costs, with prices reaching €0.37 per kilowatt-hour in the first half of 2023, more than double the level recorded in late 2020.

Prices then began to ease, declining to €0.32 per kilowatt-hour in the first half of 2024 before continuing their gradual downward trajectory.

By the first half of 2026, the price had fallen to €0.26 per kilowatt-hour, representing a substantial reduction from the 2023 peak but remaining well above the levels recorded before 2021.

The trend highlights the persistence of the energy crisis’ impact on household electricity bills, even as prices have retreated from their highest levels.

Ireland records highest electricity prices

Ireland recorded the highest household electricity prices in the EU during the first half of 2026, at €0.39 per kilowatt-hour, followed by Germany and Belgium, where prices stood at €0.36 per kilowatt-hour in both countries.

Six member states recorded household electricity prices exceeding €0.30 per kilowatt-hour, while five countries reported prices below €0.20.

The lowest nominal prices were recorded in Hungary, at €0.11 per kilowatt-hour, followed by Malta and Bulgaria, where households paid €0.13 per kilowatt-hour.

However, comparisons based solely on euros do not fully reflect the financial burden electricity bills place on households, as purchasing power and general price levels differ between countries.

When electricity prices were adjusted using the purchasing power standard (PPS), Romania recorded the highest costs, at 46.9 units per 100 kilowatt-hours, followed by Poland at 41.1 and the Czech Republic at 34.3.

Cyprus recorded 29.9 PPS units per 100 kilowatt-hours, while the lowest purchasing-power-adjusted prices were observed in Malta, at 13.8, Hungary at 14.7 and Luxembourg at 15.5.

The PPS measure allows comparisons between countries by accounting for differences in purchasing power, offering a clearer indication of the relative cost of electricity for consumers.

Electricity prices move sharply in several countries

Although the EU average declined in the first half of 2026 compared with the second half of 2025, national trends varied considerably when prices were compared with the same period a year earlier.

Using comparisons in national currencies, Eurostat found that household electricity prices increased sharply in Romania, rising by 51.6 per cent compared with the first half of 2025.

Ireland recorded the second-largest increase, at 19.8 per cent, followed by Finland, where prices rose by 18.4 per cent.

In contrast, Denmark registered the largest decrease, with household electricity prices falling by 31.7 per cent, while Luxembourg recorded a decline of 24.1 per cent.

The figures illustrate the uneven evolution of electricity costs across Europe, despite the overall reduction in average EU prices during the first six months of 2026.

For Cyprus, the combination of the historical price trend and the latest purchasing-power-adjusted figures shows that, although household electricity costs have fallen considerably from their 2023 peak, prices remain elevated compared with the period before the energy crisis.

The future of the Great Sea Interconnector (GSI), which, if completed, will link the energy grids of Cyprus, Greece, and Israel, is “being handled away from the public eye”, President Nikos Christodoulides said on Thursday, with it yet to be confirmed as and when seabed surveys for the project’s construction will begin.

“Everything which needs to be done regarding this specific matter, in terms of the Republic of Cyprus exercising its sovereign rights, is being handled away from the public eye and without excessive public statements,” he said on the sidelines of a parade to mark ‘Ochi Day’, the anniversary of Greece’s entry into the Second World War.

It is widely expected that a navtex, a message used to transmit information to seaborne vessels, regarding planned seabed surveys for the laying of cables for the GSI project, will be issued in the coming weeks, though matters have been complicated by the fact that part of the interconnector’s planned route passes through seas which are claimed by both Greece and Turkey.

Of this, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan had stressed last week that his country will not “raise any objections” to the interconnector’s construction, provided that it is given prior warning ahead of the navtex by the governments of Greece and France, the country in which the project’s majority stakeholder, asset management firm Meridiam, is based.

“What we are asking is that when a ship conducts research at sea, it send us a written notification, not just an oral one, stating, ‘we are going to undertake specific actions in this area, here are the coordinates’. That is all we are asking for. Nothing more,” he said.

On this front, Cypriot Energy Minister Michael Damianos had said two weeks ago that the navtex for the seabed surveys will be issued before the end of this month, with the Greek coastguard having said that French-flagged research ship the Abeille Marengo will be the ship conducting the surveys.

Damianos said last week that “if the project progresses”, it is believed that it will be fully completed by 2031.

Turkey’s claim to regional seas may be strengthened by Libya deal

However, Turkey’s claim to the seas through which the interconnector may pass appears to have been strengthened in recent weeks, with Libya’s parliament last week having unanimously ratified a maritime boundary agreement its government had signed with Turkey in 2019.

That agreement saw Turkey and Libya define where the two countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZ) border one another in the eastern Mediterranean, with that border, according to the agreement, falling between two points southeast of the Greek island of Crete, where the interconnector cable will connect to Greece.

Greece and the Republic of Cyprus object to the deal, saying that Turkey and Libya do not share a maritime border because islands are each entitled to a full EEZ, and that therefore, the sea in question belongs to Cyprus and Crete. Turkey’s position is that islands are not entitled to a full EEZ.

That agreement has received international pushback, with the European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas having told Fidan that the deal “infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states”, while European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had said that they “deeply regret” it.

“We reaffirm our solidarity with Greece and Cyprus. We reiterate the EU’s well-known position against any outside interference in Libya,” they said.

In response, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that “we are not, so to speak, trying to score a goal against anyone in the eastern Mediterranean”, but that “we are only concerned with protecting our maritime jurisdiction areas, rights, and interests”.