Islamabad: The government has started considering the transition of solar net metering to a separate system for the buying and selling of electricity. Under the new system, the electricity purchase rate will drop from 21 rupees per unit to 11 rupees per unit. It has been revealed that 80% of the wealthiest consumers in major cities are now part of the net metering system.

The government is becoming concerned about its declining revenue. The Power Division has begun contemplating a plan to deal with solar energy consumers who have managed to escape hefty bills. The government is considering separating the net metering system for electricity buying and selling. According to sources, due to net metering, a burden of 103 billion rupees was imposed on electricity consumers who were purchasing power from the grid last year. Sources in the Power Division state that with the new system, the electricity purchase rate will be reduced to 10-11 rupees per unit instead of 21 rupees per unit.

Due to expensive electricity, over 80% of the wealthiest consumers in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Multan, Peshawar, Sialkot, and Rawalpindi have already joined the net metering system. Sources in the Power Division also mentioned that if the new policy is not implemented on time, the existing rooftop solar policy could add a burden of 503 billion rupees to the system over the next 10 years.

According to the spokesperson for the Power Division, there were 321 megawatts of solar net metering connections in 2021, which has now increased to 3,277 megawatts in 2024. By 2034, these connections could reach 12,377 megawatts. The number of net metering consumers has now increased to 226,440.