Government Suspends Implementation Of Solar Net Billing Policy After Public Backlash

The federal government has suspended its decision to shift consumers from net metering to net billing and will file an appeal against the regulator’s ruling, following mounting public and political pressure.

Speaking in the National Assembly, Federal Minister for Power Division Awais Leghari said the issue should be viewed within the broader context of power sector reforms. He stated that the government has reduced circular debt by Rs 780 billion and renegotiated agreements with Independent Power Producers (IPPs), resulting in reported relief of Rs 3,400 billion.

Addressing net metering, the minister said the system was introduced in 2017 and has undergone several regulatory changes. He noted that nearly 700,000 consumers are currently on net metering, out of a total 39.22 million electricity consumers nationwide. Solar capacity in Pakistan stands between 20,000 and 22,000 megawatts, with around 6,000 to 7,000 megawatts linked to net metering.

Mr Leghari questioned whether purchasing electricity at Rs 27 per unit under net metering was sustainable when other sources supply power at around Rs 8 per unit. He added that approximately 35 million consumers are not part of the net metering system.

During the session, the Power Division reported that 2,223 out of 12,665 feeders across the country are facing load shedding exceeding 10 hours, with the highest impact in Quetta, Sukkur and Peshawar regions. However, no such prolonged outages were reported in Lahore, Islamabad, Gujranwala and Faisalabad.

The minister also revealed that transmission losses exceeded Rs 600 billion over the past two fiscal years. Consumers are currently paying Rs 310 billion annually to service circular debt, while agreements for several high-cost power projects have been revised or cancelled.