Alpha News

Karandonis: The AAE will go through "childhood diseases" and "adolescence"

Published January 11, 2026, 11:16

Fanos Karandonis, President of SEAPEK, analyzes the upcoming changes in the energy sector of Cyprus. He points out the transition from simply increasing energy production to a more complex model that gives a central role to the consumer. Energy transition is no longer judged solely by the megawatts of Renewable Energy Sources (RES), but also by management, flexibility and consumption patterns. Karandonis emphasizes that 2025 was a year of realizing the need to focus on the consumer, energy management and system flexibility. Self-consumption, demand response and the active participation of households and businesses are emerging as critical tools for the stability and resilience of the energy system. Three key issues that dominated public discussion were self-consumption as a right, the need for smart energy management (demand response) and energy storage as a complementary tool. For 2026, Karandonis expects greater emphasis on consumer activation through dynamic pricing and demand response schemes. However, he expresses fears that the adoption of these tools on a large scale may be delayed due to a lack of incentives and a clear regulatory framework. The speed of implementation is crucial for achieving the desired flexibility in the energy system.