The Pakistan Solar Association (PSA) has warned that proposed changes to Pakistan’s net metering policy could severely damage rooftop solar investment and consumer savings.
In a formal letter to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Power Minister Awais Leghari, PSA raised alarm over plans to abolish the current unit-for-unit net metering mechanism and replace it with a flat buyback rate of Rs. 10 per unit for solar electricity exported to the grid. The Association said this would cut consumer savings by up to 85 percent.
Under the current system, solar users offset imported electricity, costing Rs. 50–70 per unit, with equivalent exports. PSA explained that where a consumer importing and exporting 1,000 units would currently pay nothing, saving Rs. 50,000–70,000. Under the proposed Rs. 10 buyback, the same export would earn only Rs. 10,000, while full import charges would still apply, eroding over 80 percent of the savings.
PSA also warned that the payback period for solar systems, typically 2–2.5 years, would stretch well beyond loan tenures, especially for small systems.
PSA particularly grilled the proposed 18 percent sales tax on exported solar units, which requires DISCOs to apply sales tax on total electricity supplied, regardless of how much is offset by solar exports. PSA said most countries exempt or zero-rate renewable energy to support adoption.
The Association warned that the change would prolong reliance on costly capacity payments to independent power producers (IPPs), keep electricity tariffs high, and undercut Pakistan’s 30% renewable energy target for 2030.
PSA urged the government to adopt successful regional practices from India and Bangladesh, engage with SAARC countries or bilateral partners, and form a committee of industry experts under the Economic Coordination Committee and Ministry of Energy.
PSA also proposed a minimum one-year transition period before implementing any major policy changes to ensure investor confidence and market stability.
as a contractor for government; i know how difficult it is to get any payment released. yet government happily pay billions to IPPs even if no electricity is generated. why?? either these people in power own the IPPs or get commission from them
The nation is going down and govt is killing the last bits of credibility it had .
What credibility those people who can afford go off grid they are not even 5%
If they are only 5%, then why govt is worried & how big a dent can those 5% make that govt is worried so much?
Government is acting like an extractive monopolist. It has been taken hostage by a collusion of vested interests of domestic private power producers who created excess power production capacity. Why should the consumers not switch away from the grid when it is more expensive!
Any government policies to prevent consumers from switching violate antitrust laws.
Govt must think people of pakistan
Who insulated solar rooftop panel on loan/from hard earning
If i was the prime minister, i would raise the net-metering rate to RS.35 PKR and end all agreements with IPPs and dismantle ipps and focus on nuclear energy and solar energy and wind energy and dismantle all dams in Pakistan and encourage consumer exported electricity because of high net-metering rate and charge non solar users RS-35 PKR till 300 units and this way the solar users will not only get roi soon and benefit from grid but also non solar users will get alot of relief and solar users will literally assist non solar users thus increasing unity in the nation and managing economy in a better way for the people but this is only possible if power theft becomes 0 and circular debt gets 80 to 90 percent reduced which currently seems impossible given the outdated grid stations and outdated transmission and electricity distribution infrastructure network
It seems that the govt.’s model of pricing of electricity generated is not usage based rather it is based on the number of consumers. It is probably because there are fixed rates agrees with the IPPs regardless of the number of units produced. This is totally against the business norms.