In a major relief for hundreds of thousands of green energy users. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has officially taken notice of the controversial new regulations introduced by NEPRA. The Prime Minister has directed the Power Division to file an immediate review appeal against the regulator’s decision. Which has sought to replace the popular “net-metering” system with a more expensive “net-billing” model. The move comes after a massive public and political outcry. The citizens and senators alike are calling the new rules a “punishment” for those who invested in renewable energy.
The Battle of Net-Metering vs. Net-Billing
The core of the dispute lies in how solar users are compensated for the Rs 10 sent back to the national grid. On Monday, NEPRA announced that it would effectively end the “unit-for-unit” exchange system. Under the proposed rules, prosumers would be forced to buy electricity from the grid at high rates (up to Rs 55 per unit). They are selling their surplus solar power back to the state for a meager Rs10 to Rs 11 per unit. Prime Minister Shehbaz emphasized that while the grid’s stability is important. The “burden of 466,000 solar users should not be unfairly shifted onto the 37 million domestic consumers” without protecting existing contracts.
Safeguarding Solar Contracts and Future Growth
The Minister’s intervention aims to protect the legal sanctity of the seven-year contracts already signed by existing solar users. Critics of the NEPRA notification argued that the new rules – which included slashing contract lengths from seven years to five and reducing system capacity limits by 50% – would dismantle a decade of citizen-led energy progress. Power Minister Awais Leghari initially defended the move as a necessary step to stabilize the power sector. The Prime Minister has now demanded a “comprehensive strategy” that balances the interests of both solar investors and grid-dependent consumers.
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