Net Billing vs Net Metering: what actually changed in 2026
Two different schemes, often confused. If you are pricing solar now, only one of them applies to you.
By Charis Kasiouli, Mechanical Engineer · 4 min read · Published 2026-08-23
If you heard about solar in Cyprus a few years ago, you likely heard about Net Metering. If you are pricing a system today, you are under a different scheme: Net Billing. The two get used interchangeably in conversation, which causes real confusion about what a system will actually be worth.
The short version
What Net Metering actually was
Under Net Metering, your meter effectively ran backwards when you exported. A kWh you sent to the grid at midday and a kWh you drew back in the evening cancelled out one-for-one, regardless of when each happened.
The economics were simple: every unit your panels produced was worth the same as a unit of retail electricity, whether you used it yourself or exported it.
That made oversizing attractive. A bigger array with more export was still worth full retail value, so there was little reason to size conservatively.
What changed with Net Billing
Net Billing splits the value of a solar kWh into two separate prices:
- What you use directly at home replaces electricity you would otherwise buy at the full retail rate, around €0.26/kWh all-in
- What you export is credited separately, at a wholesale-linked rate. CERA Decision 112/2023 caps this at 11 cents/kWh at Low Voltage
A unit you use yourself is worth more than twice a unit you export. That single fact changes almost every sizing decision that used to make sense under Net Metering.
Since when
New residential PV applications in Cyprus have been assessed under Net Billing and CERA's regulatory framework since 1 January 2026. Net Metering is closed to new applicants.
If your neighbour installed solar a few years ago, they may genuinely still be on Net Metering terms — but that arrangement is not available to a new applicant today.
Why this makes sizing different now
Under Net Metering, bigger was almost always better, because export was worth full price. Under Net Billing, a system sized to what you actually consume — and increasingly, paired with storage to shift daytime production into the evening — produces a better return than the largest array your roof can hold.
We wrote a full worked example on this, comparing a bigger array against a battery on the same house, with the actual numbers: bigger array or a battery?
What this means if you're pricing solar now
- Ask what scheme any quote assumes — if a quote values every kWh at retail price, the savings figure is overstated
- A system sized to your consumption, not your roof area, is the correct starting point
- Battery storage now has a direct, calculable value: shifting units from the 11-cent export rate to the roughly 26-cent self-consumption value
Our cost calculator models this properly — production, self-consumption, export and import calculated month by month under Net Billing, not a single average multiplied by twelve.
Related
Figures reflect the scheme as of August 2026: an import cost of about €0.26/kWh and an export credit of €0.11/kWh, the Low Voltage ceiling under CERA Decision 112/2023. Both change over time.