ISLAMABAD – The federal government has decided that no any changes will be made to net metering regulations without holding consultation with stakeholders.
Federal Minister for Power Division Owais Leghari stated this in a meeting where net metering regulations were discussed ahead of the federal budget 2025-26.
Reports said representatives from the Solar Association, provincial governments, and relevant stakeholders participated in the meeting. A detailed review of the suggestions provided by the stakeholders was conducted during the session.
It was decided in the meeting that any changes to the regulations will be made with consultation from stakeholders.
Leghari stated that the government will not harm any business, and any changes in the regulations will be made keeping consumer protection in mind.
He said that stakeholder concerns regarding the protection of the national grid will be taken into account.
Leghari said the government has scrapped 9000 megawatts of expensive and unnecessary projects that were burdening the power system.
He recalled that in 2017-18, he himself played an important role in introducing net metering, and at that time the system was in its early stages.
Now that the scope of net metering has expanded, it is having serious effects on the grid, which need to be addressed in a timely manner, he asserted.
Buyback Rate
In March this year, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) had decided to reduce the buyback rate by two-thirds to Rs10 per unit and scrapped net billing.
However, the move draw massive criticisms, forcing Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to put off the decision and directed the ECC to re-submit the recommendations to the federal cabinet for review.
