ISLAMABAD: TheNetwork for Consumer Protection has voiced serious concerns over the Draft Prosumer Regulations, 2025 issued by the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), warning that the proposed framework could significantly undermine the economic viability of net-metered solar power for consumers.
In a statement, TheNetwork said that while the draft regulations are framed as an attempt to balance the interests of consumers and utilities, their practical impact would be to sharply reduce incentives for household and small commercial prosumers. Such measures, it cautioned, risk derailing Pakistan’s clean energy transition at a critical time.
TheNetwork acknowledged NEPRA’s recognition of the prosumer concept—consumers who both generate and consume electricity—but noted that NEPRA’s own reports have consistently highlighted how distribution companies have disadvantaged consumers through poor service quality, excessive surcharges and unreliable supply. Instead of addressing these structural issues, the proposed regulations appear to shield an inefficient and financially stressed utility model by transferring the burden onto consumers who have invested in decentralised, clean energy solutions.
Nadeem Iqbal, CEO of TheNetwork, said NEPRA’s mission to promote a safe, reliable, affordable, modern and market-driven power sector must now be viewed alongside Pakistan’s recently recognised constitutional right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment. “Any regulatory framework that discourages renewable energy adoption directly undermines this constitutional guarantee,” he said.
TheNetwork noted that at a time when Pakistan is grappling with severe air pollution, extreme heatwaves, floods and other climate-induced disasters, discouraging rooftop solar sends the wrong policy signal. Consumers, it said, are turning to solar not for profit, but as a survival response to unaffordable electricity tariffs, frequent outages and rising fuel costs. Rooftop solar is also enabling a shift toward electric mobility, particularly electric two-wheelers, helping reduce dependence on fossil fuels in both power and transport sectors.
The proposed reduction in buyback tariffs, lowering of allowable system capacity from 150% to 100% of sanctioned load, and the shortening of contract duration to five years were described as measures that increase financial uncertainty and disproportionately affect middle-income households. These changes, TheNetwork warned, could discourage future clean energy investments and slow progress toward climate resilience and energy security.
NEPRA itself has acknowledged that high taxes, levies and surcharges are pushing consumers away from the grid, the organisation noted, adding that penalising clean energy adopters will not resolve these underlying challenges. Prosumers, it argued, should be treated as partners in reducing peak demand, cutting fuel imports, improving grid stability and achieving environmental goals.
As a member of Consumers International’s Advisory Council and Clean Energy Task Force, TheNetwork stressed that from a consumer perspective, clean energy adoption must be accelerated, not constrained.
TheNetwork urged NEPRA and the government to revisit the Draft Prosumer Regulations with a forward-looking approach that prioritises consumer rights, public health, affordability and Pakistan’s long-term transition away from fossil fuels, ensuring clean energy remains accessible, inclusive and economically viable for all.
