Federal Minister for Energy Awais Ahmad Khan Leghari stated on Sunday that the government has no intentions of discontinuing the solar net-metering policy.
His remarks came in response to media reports suggesting the government’s plan to replace the policy with a new gross-metering mechanism.
Media reports suggested that the federal government was contemplating transitioning from solar net metering to “gross metering” to discourage in-house power generation.
According to these reports, under the proposed gross metering policy, electricity unit prices sold to the national grid would be halved, and rooftop solar panel owners would sell their electricity units to the government at rates set by the Central Power Purchasing Agency (CPPA). Discussions with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding this policy have been reported.
However, Minister Leghari, speaking at a press conference at the Lahore Electric Supply Company (Lesco) headquarters, dismissed these media reports. He affirmed that the government remains committed to promoting solar power, emphasizing that the solar net-metering scheme was initiated during the tenure of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and continued to be supported by Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
“This scheme [solar net-metering] was introduced in 2017 by the PML-N, and we will continue to encourage it,” Minister Leghari stated, expressing pride in the scheme’s positive impact on a large number of people. He assured consumers who had already installed solar power and entered into net-metering contracts with the Disco (Distribution Companies) that they would not be adversely affected.
Minister Leghari emphasized that the government would persist in promoting net metering in the future, and any changes to the policy would be made after consulting all stakeholders.
