PM Shehbaz Takes Notice of NEPRA’s New Solar Net Metering Rules

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken immediate notice of the new solar regulations issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA). A high-level meeting was convened under the Prime Minister’s chairmanship to discuss the matter, attended by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Atta Tarar, Owais Leghari, Pervez Malik, Bilal Kayani, Muhammad Ali, and Ahad Cheema.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister directed the Power Division to file a review appeal with NEPRA to ensure the protection of existing solar consumers’ contracts. He emphasized that the financial burden of 466,000 solar users should not be shifted onto the 37.6 million consumers connected to the national grid. Consequently, the Power Division has been tasked with formulating a comprehensive action plan to address this balance.

NEPRA’s new regulations significantly reduce the rates for selling electricity back to the national grid. While existing solar consumers will continue to sell electricity at the current rate of Rs 25.32 per unit, the rate for new consumers has been slashed to Rs 17.19 per unit. This represents a reduction of over Rs 8.13 per unit compared to the previous tariff.

Additionally, a new net billing system has been introduced for both new and existing customers. Under this system, units generated by consumers will no longer be swapped 1-to-1 with government units; instead, all electricity drawn from the national grid will be charged according to standard government tariffs and slabs. Furthermore, the license duration for new net metering customers has been reduced from seven years to five years.