The federal government is getting ready to end the solar net metering system. The Power Division has almost finalized a new solar policy that aims to reshape how renewable energy works in the country.
Sources say the draft of this new policy is nearly complete. It proposes replacing net metering with gross metering. In gross metering, all the electricity produced by solar panels would be sold to the national grid at a set rate, instead of letting consumers offset their own electricity bills.
The draft policy will be sent to the federal cabinet for approval once it gets the green light from the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA).
According to the proposal, the government plans to set a buyback rate of Rs. 11.33 per unit for the electricity solar users sell to the grid, almost 60 percent less than the current net metering system which pays Rs. 27 per unit. However, people already using net metering will keep their existing rate and will not be affected by the change.
The policy also suggests tying future solar buyback rates to one-third of the regular electricity tariff, making Rs. 11.33 the baseline. The government wants to add up to 8,500 megawatts of solar power to the grid under the new plan.
Officials argue that the net metering system has created heavy financial pressure on other electricity users, costing around Rs. 159 billion overall. Of this, Rs. 103 billion comes from having to pay higher prices for solar electricity. The Power Division believes switching to gross metering will help share costs more fairly among all consumers.