1. What documents do I need to submit to the EAC when making an application for the supply of electricity to my property?
Answer:
- A completed application form stating the requested load
- A building/planning permit
- The title deed to the property
- A building permit site plan
- If you are eligible for the Agricultural Policy scheme, additional requirements are noted in the answer to Question 4 below.
2. What documents do I need to submit to the EAC when making an application for the supply of electricity for a water pump?
Answer:
- A completed application form stating the requested load. This information may be obtained from your licensed electrical contractor.
- A drilling permit and a water pumping permit
- The title deed to the property
- A drilling permit site plan
- If you are eligible for the Agricultural Policy scheme, additional requirements are noted in the answer to Question 5 below.
3. What documents do I need to submit to the EAC when making an application to install an EAC solar water heater?
Answer:
- A completed application form stating the requested load. This information may be obtained from your licensed electrical contractor.
- A copy of a recent electricity bill for the property
- A site plan showing the area for which the solar water heater is intended
Note:
Applicants are advised not to proceed with electrical installations for solar heaters or with purchases of/commitments to purchase solar heaters before obtaining written approval of their application from the EAC.
4. Who is eligible for the Rural Area Policy scheme for properties?
Answer:
Eligible applicants
- Any EU citizen residing permanently in a rural area who is the owner of an approved property.
- All refugees, irrespective of their place of residence, who submit proof of their refugee status and of their ownership of the property which will be used as their permanent residence.
Approved property
An approved property is one which will be used as a private, permanent residence and/or will be bequeathed to the children of the applicant for permanent residence, provided that the requested load is for normal requirements (single phase 40Α or three-phase 30Α)
Required documentation
- A certificate from the local District Officer confirming that the applicant is a permanent resident of a rural area and that the property will be used as a permanent residence and/or will be bequeathed to the applicant’s children for use as a permanent residence.
- A registration certificate for the building plot and a building permit in the applicant’s name or other documentary evidence to show clearly that the applicant is the owner of the land.
5. Who is eligible for the Rural Area Policy scheme for farming purposes?
Answer:
Eligible applicants
- Any EU citizen residing permanently in a rural area who is the owner of an approved property.
- Natural persons owning an approved property who are involved in farming in its broadest meaning and who, on 31/12/2006, were registered exclusively as farmers with the Department of Social Insurance and continue to be so for at least five years after the date of the deposit of their capital contribution to the EAC, as well as pensioners who were registered as farmers with the Department of Social Insurance.
- Legal entities owning an approved property which are active in the primary or secondary farming sectors.
Approved properties
(a) Properties which contribute to the primary farming production process and are themselves part of the unit, such as animal breeding holdings, farming stores, water pumps, animal and bird housing, biological waste treatment plants, pressure pumps, etc.
(b) Properties which contribute to the secondary farming production process (trade and processing) and are themselves part of the unit, such as bird slaughterhouses, farm product processing workshops/factories, animal feed mills, water and waste treatment plants, biological waste treatment plants, pressure pumps, etc.
Required documentation
- A certificate from the relevant Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment stating that the applicant is eligible under the Ministry’s current Rural Policy and Strategic Rural Development Plan 2007-2013.
- A building permit, excluding existing properties for which submission of a building permit is not deemed necessary.
- A water pumping permit where water pumps are involved.
6. How quickly can I obtain a supply of electricity?
Answer:
The time required for the provision of supply depends on a number of factors:
- The size of the requested load
- If there is an electricity supply network in the area
- The capacity of the existing network
- The EAC’s workload at the specific time
When there is an electricity supply network
When the provision of the requested load is via the existing network, in most cases the EAC will send you the terms of supply within a period of one month to six weeks.
When the electricity supply network has to be extended/modified
When the provision of the requested load requires the extension or modification of the electricity supply network, the process takes considerably longer, especially if a substation or an extension to the Medium Voltage network is deemed necessary.
In the majority of such cases, approval is required from various Government Departments and Services as well as the consent of affected landowners, procedures that are beyond the control of the EAC.
Indicative times
Below are indicative times for the dispatch of the terms of supply, which cover 80% of cases. As noted above, there are unfortunately situations over which the EAC has no control in which these times are exceeded.
- Supply via an extension to the Low Voltage network
When the Low Voltage network requires an extension or strengthening, in most cases the EAC sends the terms of supply to the applicant in less than 8 or 9 months.
- Supply requiring a new substation
When an electrical substation (on private land) is required, in most cases the EAC sends the terms of supply to the applicant within 12-14 months, provided that the applicant has in the meantime obtained a building permit for development of the land and for the substation and responds punctually to the EAC’s invitation to draw up the necessary purchasing contract for the substation.
- Supply via an extension to the Medium Voltage network
When the Medium Voltage network needs to be extended, the supply process takes longer since a land survey has to be carried out along the line and usually requires obtaining the consent of many more landowners.
In most cases, the EAC sends the terms of supply to the applicant within 14-16 months.
The time required for the construction of a new network depends to a large extent on the size of the project. For example, less time is needed to build simple extensions to the Low Voltage network than to plan and build extensions to the Medium Voltage network (11 000 or 2 200 volts), the connection of which may require cutting all or part of the feed from the central Transmission/Distribution substation.
The time for the applicant’s connection to the electricity network depends on the date on which an application is submitted by the customer’s electrician for an electrical installation inspection.
7. Why is the EAC pole/network located on the edge of my property rather than elsewhere?
Answer:
The EAC’s usual practice regarding new extensions, wherever possible, is to locate extensions along streets and rights of way. In such cases, the new electricity network is developed on one side of the street and poles are erected on the edges of the properties.
Regarding extensions in rural areas where there are no roads, the EAC network is developed mainly along borders.
A significant role in any decision by the EAC to develop its network is played by environmental criteria such as minimizing any effect on private property.
Any extension to the EAC network is based on technical restrictions (such as the type of network, the maximum permitted distance between poles, the need for fixing or support), the Law on Electricity, Transmission and Distribution Regulations, the relative EAC regulations, EU recommendations and directives, environmental criteria and various recommendations by authorities such as the District Office, the Ombudsman, etc.
8. Why is the electrical substation located on my property which is under development rather than elsewhere?
Answer:
For technical reasons, but also based on the principle of proportionality (a principle recommended to us by the Ombudsman and other relevant authorities), electrical substations are first and foremost located within the developments that create a need for them.
Such substations are located on the borders of building plots (preferably in areas surrounded by greenery so as to maximize the distance from residential developments), in commercial and industrial developments, in apartment bocks and/or other developments requiring a significant electrical load.
The EAC’s substations, like the whole of its network, are developed in accordance with the provisions of the Law and the directives and recommendations of the European Union.
9. Why is a transformer mounted on the pole located on my property, which is under development, rather than elsewhere?
Answer:
The EAC mounts transformers on poles mainly in rural areas and villages. Such transformers are usually located on the edges of the parcels of land where applicants have requested electricity since it is their supply that requires the installation of a transformer. The EAC informs applicants of the location of the transformer in order to minimize any effect it may have.
In cases where such transformers are required to boost the electricity network (irrespective of whether there is an applicant or not), the EAC endeavours to install them wherever possible on state land and public roads, preferably on the borders of plots, with a view to minimizing any possible effect on private property.
These transformers, like the whole of the EAC network, are developed in accordance with the provisions of the Law and the directives and recommendations of the European Union.
10. In which cases is the electricity supply provided via underground cabling?
Answer:
Underground electricity supply is provided to:
- Buildings under construction on newly-divided plots in urban municipal areas where there is an existing underground electricity network.
- Buildings under construction in areas of core towns and villages where there is an existing underground electricity network.
- Homes in urban areas where the EAC’s existing overhead network is developed on the side of the road where the applicant’s home is located.
Underground electricity supply is not provided to homes, for technical and operational reasons, when the EAC’s overhead network has been developed on the opposite side of the road, except in cases where the underground supply to an applicant’s home can be combined with development work on the EAC’s underground network.
11. What is required for a connection/reconnection/transfer/disconnection of the electricity supply in the name of a natural person or legal entity?
Answer:
If the customer is a natural person, the following documents are required:
- A rental or sales agreement
- An identity card or passport
If the customer is a legal entity (company), the following documents are required:
- A copy of the certificate of registration of the company
- A copy of the certificate of shareholders
- A company stamp
- A guarantee signed by the shareholders or shareholder of the company to personally guarantee payment of any outstanding electricity bill of the company. If the guarantee is signed outside the EAC, it must be certified by a notary public. If the legal entity is a public company or an offshore company, no such guarantee is required.
- A rental or sales agreement
It should be noted that the person signing on behalf if the company must be its legal representative. In the case of authorization of someone else, the authorization must be certified by a notary public.
12. When will the electricity supply to my property be connected/reconnected?
Answer:
Reconnection takes place the next working day at the latest.
For a new connection/meter installation, 3-6 working days are required.
13. Who is eligible for the special 08 tariff?
Answer:
The following are eligible for the special tariff (code 08):
- Large or five-member families with 3 or more dependent children and an annual gross family income not exceeding €51,258. The criterion of €51,258 for the annual gross family income increases by €5,126 for each additional dependent child beyond the fourth.
- Needy families receiving Public Assistance Benefit from the Social Welfare Services.
- Families receiving a Severe Motor Disability Allowance from the Service for the Care and Rehabilitation of the Disabled.
It should be noted that dependent children should be under 18 years of age unless they are:
- Males aged 18-23 carrying out their service in the National Guard.
- Males aged 23-25 who are studying at college or university and have completed their military service.
- Males exempted from National Guard service and females aged 18-23 who are studying at college or university.
- Irrespective of age, individuals who are permanently incapable of looking after themselves.
The above are eligible for the special tariff (code 08) provided that the electricity bill is in their name or in that of their spouse. The application form must be completed by the person in whose name the electricity supply is registered.
14. On my electricity bill there is a reference to a “Fuel Adjustment Charge”. Is this an additional charge?
Answer:
No, it is not an additional charge. However, under the new billing system which was introduced on 16 May 2008, in order to provide better customer information the amount payable is analysed in detail on the electricity bill and divided into:
- The basic price according to the corresponding tariff and
- The Fuel Adjustment Charge, depending on any increase/reduction in the monthly fuel cost. For more information, go to the EAC website at www.eac.com.cy and click on Customer Service/Tariffs/Fuel Cost
15. What is the Fuel Adjustment Charge and what is it for?
Answer:
The EAC’s approved tariffs have been designed in such a way as to be automatically adjusted to cover any increase or reduction in the cost of fuel per metric tonne (M.T.). The Fuel Adjustment Charge is calculated every month and is applied to monthly electricity bills for the next calendar month and to bimonthly bills for the next but one calendar month.
The EAC’s basic tariffs have been set on the basis of a per M.T. cost of €85.43. The per unit charge for electricity consumption rises or falls by €0.00140 for every 5 cents in the per M.T. cost of fuel above or below €85.43. This means that for every €1 increase or reduction to the basic cost of €85.43, the price of electricity rises or falls by €0.028.
For more information, please see Example for calculating the total unit price (per kWh)
16. When international oil prices fall, why is the cost of electricity not reduced automatically?