ISLAMABAD: Power Minister Awais Leghari on Tuesday defended the power regulator’s changes on rooftop solar and net metering during a furious Senate session that criticised the decision, saying the new regulations were aimed at protecting poorer consumers.
The government is currently facing political backlash as the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA) abolished exchange of electricity units in solar net metering. At present, the buyback rate for solar net generation is Rs25.9 per unit which may be reduced to Rs11 per unit. The contract period has been reduced from seven to five years. The burden of capacity payments is being shifted to solar consumers now.
Under the new rules, utilities will be required to purchase excess electricity from prosumers, households, businesses and industries generating up to one megawatt at the national average energy purchase price, while selling electricity back to them at the applicable consumer tariff, effectively ending one-to-one net metering.
Defending the move in today’s Senate session, Leghari said: “These are a change in the regulations and it is the job of the regulator to change them as per the law and the Constitution.”
He said the regulations were not being changed for the first time. “NEPRA has not changed anyone’s agreement, and we have not said anything to the existing 466,000 net metering consumers,” Leghari added.
The power minister said the net metering issue was not even part of the existing agreement. He said the government had told consumers that, in future, whoever installed solar would have electricity purchased from them at the revised rate.
Leghari said the move was in favour of low-income consumers, while the government had reduced electricity prices for industry.
“We have made electricity 20% cheaper for industry,” he said.
Leghari said the government had been signalling its direction for months and claimed the Solar Association of Pakistan had supported the need for the proposed move.
“The Solar Association of Pakistan also said what the government is going to do is necessary,” he said, adding that the association suggested the changes be introduced after “five to six months”.
