Federal Minister for Energy Owais Leghari has said that the government is determined to encourage solarisation. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is in favor of generating maximum solar energy. Discouragement of net metering connection holders shall not be encouraged.
In an interview with a private channel, he said that people should not listen to hearsay and social media propaganda.
Meanwhile, according to the sources of the electricity companies, the proposal to allow net metering connection holders to use 50 to 70 percent of the electricity of the discos is under consideration. The government has informed the IMF of its plan to overcome the crisis of power shortage and inflation.
Abolishing the net metering policy for payment to IPPs would be an attempt to derail the solarization system.
The government of Pakistan has started preparing to reduce the benefits of solar panel installers.
The proposal is under consideration to install two meters of solar panels at the houses of the installers.
Prime Minister Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif and Leader (L-N) Nawaz Sharif will encourage solarisation, but instead of revising the agreement to give capacity charges to IPPs, the government has started considering a proposal to amend the net metering policy which has been indicated to bring a gross metering policy. In this way, the burden will be placed on those who benefit from net metering and get electricity from solar panels worth at least twelve lakh rupees.
One proposal is that those who have installed solar panels on the roof of their houses will have to use more or less 50% of the electricity from the discos and the solarization electricity will reach them directly to the discos for a payment of 19 or 20 rupees. It is proposed to reduce the amount of Rs.9 per unit to be paid to the consumer.
The government has informed the IMF of its strategy to overcome the power price crisis.
According to sources, while briefing the IMF mission, Pakistan’s financial team said that the government is going to end or modify the existing policy of net metering, and the proposal to introduce gross metering policy in its place is being finalized. Two electricity meters will be installed under gross metering.
The electricity generated by the solar panels will be automatically connected to the national grid and then fed back. They will be metered through two meters while consumers with solar panels will be provided electricity from the national grid at the normal rate at which other consumers are being provided. On the other hand, net metering has moved countless consumers into the protected category.
Under the gross metering policy, consumers with solar panels will not be registered in the protected category and will be charged the same electricity rates as non-protected consumers.