This paper describes a new configuration and control method for an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with a bidirectional cycloconverter. When commercial AC power is operating normally, the load is supplied by commercial AC power and the bidirectional cycloconverter operates as a battery charger. During interruptions of commercial AC power, the bidirectional cycloconverter operates as an inverter and supplies AC power to the load. Unlike a conventional UPS, this new configuration does not require a battery charger, so it can be small, light-weight, cost-effective, and highly efficient. The output voltage characteristics and the transient voltage drop in the output when commercial AC power fails are also discussed by numerical analysis and experiments.