Formula Pakistan: Rewriting the Engineering Narrative
February 11, 2026
Nepra has replaced net-metering with net-billing for all solar prosumers, cutting export rates and altering contracts to curb rising solar penetration and protect the grid.
Read more: NEPRA Weighs Flat Power Tariff to Revive Demand
In a swift and contentious move, the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has notified sweeping changes to Pakistan’s solar net-metering regime, effectively replacing it with net-billing for both existing and future prosumers.
The new regulations, issued unchanged after a public hearing, overturn earlier government assurances that existing prosumer contracts would remain intact for their full seven-year term. Under the revised framework, registered prosumers will be shifted immediately to net-billing, with export units credited for one month instead of three. While other contractual terms remain valid until expiry, the core unit-for-unit exchange mechanism has been eliminated.
For new prosumers, contracts will be limited to five years, with export energy purchased at around Rs10–11 per unit, compared to Rs26 previously. Imported electricity from distribution companies will be billed separately at Rs37–55 per unit, excluding taxes and surcharges. Any surplus exported energy will be settled at the National Average Energy Purchase Price, with credits carried forward or paid quarterly, despite a history of delayed payments by Discos.
The rules also cap solar installations at sanctioned load levels, impose transformer-level capacity limits, and restrict new connections once 80pc capacity is reached. Critics argue the measures target compliant, metered solar users while leaving unmetered and oversized installations unaddressed, raising fresh concerns over regulatory certainty and investor confidence in Pakistan’s renewable energy policy.
