Energy Minister George Papanastasiou has defended the necessity of power cuts from photovoltaic parks and domestic solar installations, citing system balancing requirements amid low electricity consumption and increasing renewable energy production.
Speaking at an EDEK party energy conference on Monday morning, Papanastasiou explained that the current cuts are essential for maintaining grid stability during this transitional phase in the country’s energy situation.
In cooperation with the Transmission and Distribution System Operators, he stated, the ministry is exploring technical solutions that would allow homeowners with solar installations to continue using self-generated electricity for household consumption without feeding it into the electrical system.
Achieving this balance would require the installation of more sophisticated systems in domestic photovoltaic setups, enabling operators to remotely disconnect these systems from the grid when necessary to ensure network protection, while simultaneously allowing owners to utilise their electricity for their own needs, he explained.
This approach presupposes, Papanastasiou cautioned, that homeowners would either need to be present to consume their green electricity as it’s generated, program their appliances to operate during production hours, or install domestic storage solutions—currently considered an economically unviable investment for most households.
The announcement comes amid outrage from solar panel owners about potential financial losses resulting from mandatory disconnections during peak production periods.
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