Federal Minister for Power Awais Leghari defended the recent adjustments to solar net metering regulations in the Senate, emphasizing that the changes were regulatory, not policy-driven, and aimed at protecting electricity consumers from additional costs. He clarified that NEPRA’s main responsibility is to safeguard consumer interests and that existing seven-year net metered contracts remain unaffected.
Leghari highlighted support from the Pakistan Solar Association and projected an increase in solar power generation by 8,000 megawatts despite the revisions. He attributed high electricity prices during 2018-22 to the rupee’s depreciation and noted that the federal cabinet had approved the net metering mechanism as part of achieving 55 percent clean energy in Pakistan’s power mix, alongside the near elimination of furnace oil from the national grid.
The minister cited data showing that only 466,000 of 34.5 million electricity users are net metering customers. He explained that allowing NEPRA to purchase electricity at Rs. 26 per unit would have imposed an annual burden of Rs. 550 billion on ordinary consumers. Under the revised rates, new solar users can recover their investment within three years, while failure to revise the regulations would have raised costs for ordinary consumers by Rs. 5 per unit. Leghari also stressed that IPP contracts are being handled on merit without political influence and that international institutions have endorsed the government’s power sector reforms.
