Clean energy is a right, not privilege
At a time when Pakistan is facing record air pollution, extreme heatwaves, floods, and other climate-induced disasters, National Electric Power Regulatory Authority’s (NEPRA) proposal to significantly reduce the size, duration, and economic viability of net-metered solar power for consumers can affect country’s ‘clean energy’ adoption policy.
Discouraging rooftop solar adoption sends the wrong signal as consumers are turning to solar not to generate profits, but as a survival response to unaffordable electricity tariffs, frequent outages, and rising fuel costs.
Nadeem Iqbal, CEO of TheNetwork, has noted that NEPRA’s mission statement commits the regulator to developing a safe, reliable, affordable, modern, and market-driven electricity sector while maintaining a balance between consumer and service provider interests. This mandate must now be read in light of Pakistan’s recently-recognized constitutional right, which states that every person shall be entitled to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment.
Any regulatory framework that discourages renewable energy adoption directly undermines this constitutional guarantee, he said.
In case of Pakistan, for many households, rooftop solar is also enabling the transition to electric mobility, particularly electric two-wheelers, helping reduce dependence on fossil fuels in both the power and transport sectors.
According to the CEO of The Network for Consumer Protection the Draft Prosumer Regulations, 2025 issued by the NEPRA is risking a major setback to Pakistan’s clean energy transition.
While the draft regulations are presented as a measure to balance the interests of consumers and utilities, their practical effect would sharply reduce incentives for household and small commercial prosumers, the Network CEO said adding NEPRA has rightly recognized the concept of a prosumer—a consumer who both produces and consumes electricity. However, its own reports have repeatedly highlighted how consumers have been disadvantaged by distribution companies through sub-optimal service quality, excessive surcharges, and unreliable supply. Instead of addressing these systemic issues, the proposed regulations appear to protect an inefficient and financially distressed utility model by shifting the burden onto consumers who have invested in clean, decentralized energy solutions.
The proposed reduction in buyback tariffs, the lowering of allowable system capacity from 150 percent to 100 percent of sanctioned load, and the shortening of contract duration to five years significantly increase financial uncertainty for consumers. These changes are likely to disproportionately affect middle-income households and discourage future investments in clean energy, slowing Pakistan’s progress toward climate resilience and energy security.
