The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) has introduced new rules and regulations to manage the electricity purchase and supply process for net metering users—though existing users will be able to continue under their current terms until the expiry of their contract.
The new rules refer to net metering users as “prosumers” and say they would face separate tariffs for electricity purchase from the grid and supply to the grid. Under them, an electricity company would buy electricity from the prosumers at the National Average Energy Purchase Price, while it would supply electricity based on existing tariff rates.
Prosumers, under the new rules, would also be subject to restrictions on the amount of electricity they can produce, with NEPRA retaining the power to review their production capacity. No user is permitted to generate more electricity than their load capacity, ostensibly to ensure efficient energy production and consumption.
All net metering users would be required to obtain separate meters for the purchase and supply of electricity. They have also been banned from selling excess electricity to other consumers, ensuring the generated power is only used for their own consumption or sold back to the grid.
For existing net metering users, the new rules would come into force upon the expiry of their current contracts. However, they have been barred from transferring or selling excess electricity to other consumers.
In a statement, NEPRA said the new rules would enable it to better manage Pakistan’s growing net metering sector and ensure fair and efficient electricity transactions.
The incumbent government has long threatened to impose restrictions on net metering users, arguing that the surge in solar uptake is raising tariffs for on-grid users, many of whom are heavily subsidized by the government under the protected slab structure. The new policies are in direct opposition to the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz)’s stated claims of prompting solar usage, as promised in its election manifesto.