Govt Proposes Net Metering Cut to Ease Costs

The government is seeking a cut in net metering rates for new contracts to ease the financial load on electricity consumers, shared Federal Power Minister Owais Leghari on X (formerly Twitter).

Net metering, rolled out in 2018 under ex-PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, has been a rather costly win for over 283,000 users. Other consumers have been footing a Rs150 billion bill, paying an extra Rs1.5 per unit to cover net metering users’ gains.

To fix this, the planned rate revision will affect only future contracts, leaving current agreements untouched. Leghari assured that even with the adjustment, new users would still break even within 4 to 5 years, making net metering a real deal.

The ultimate objective is to keep renewable energy incentives attractive while preventing over 40 million electricity consumers from bearing the brunt of rising costs.