Since the competitive electricity market opened in October 2025, everyone pays the real cost of the energy they use. No more cross-subsidies. As part of that shift, from May 1, 2026, the EAC subsidy on storage heater tariffs came to an end.
The timeline for this was set out back in 2017, when CERA fixed the new tariffs and it became clear that without the EAC picking up the tab, the cost of running storage heaters would jump by 49%. To its credit, the EAC footed that bill for the best part of a decade, buying people time to adjust. Net-metering with solar power, now on offer as the fix under CERA’s decision, is a step in the right direction.
But here’s the real question: how many people actually had the money, over all those years, to swap out their heating system? And how many can afford to invest in solar panels now?
Α.Ν.
