ISLAMABAD: Minister for Power, Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari, has announced plans to reduce the buyback rates for net metering in coming days aimed at reducing financial burden on those consumers who pay their bills and increase and improve revenues of power Distribution Companies.
Sources told Newzshewz that the issue of net metering came under discussion at a high level meeting on Discos performance presided over by the Prime Minister, Shehbaz Sharif on Friday. However, official announcement of decisions taken in the meeting was made on Saturday. Power Minister has also taken serious view of recently notified amendments in in NEPRA rules . He vowed to scrap amendments which were seen as extending benefits to select projects.
On December 24, 2024, NEPRA modified its regulations to exempt renewable energy projects established by foreign countries under the Inter-Governmental Commercial Transactions (IGCT) Act, 2022. It also exempted projects that qualified as “least cost” under the Integrated Generation Capacity Expansion Plan (IGCEP) 2021.
Some members of NEPRA strongly objected to the exemption for IGCEP 2021 projects, as there was an impression that certain members were supporting projects favored by influential stakeholders.
Sources indicated that the decision was divided, with the amendments being approved by a majority vote, including Chairman Waseem Mukhtar, Member (Law) Amina Ahmed, and Member (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Maqsood Anwar Khan. However, Member (Finance and Tariff) Mathar Niaz Rana and Member (Technical) Rafique Ahmad Shaikh, representing Sindh, opposed the facilitation of older projects.
When the issue was raised with the Power Minister after his press conference on Saturday, he firmly stated that the government would not allow these changes to proceed. He confirmed that the amendments, recently notified by NEPRA through a majority vote, would be scrapped. He also announced that key reforms would be introduced in NEPRA, as the regulator itself had expressed a desire for such reforms, with crucial decisions now being made by NEPRA.
“We have begun analyzing NEPRA’s past decisions to understand the facts. We are reviewing the regulatory framework of the power sector,” the minister added.
Regarding KE’s tariff determination, the minister stated that the government had submitted its review to NEPRA and hoped the Authority would take it into account. He warned that a Rs 10 per unit increase in tariff would have severe negative impacts on consumers. “We have filed a review motion with NEPRA on KE’s tariff determination for the next seven years. KE’s requested tariff was unfair. If the regulator had been just, Karachi consumers would have saved billions,” he emphasized.
On the revision of net metering buyback rates, the minister confirmed that the buyback rate for solar net metering would be reduced in a way that allows consumers to recoup their investment in four years. Sources told Newzshewz that the government is likely to set the buyback rate at Rs 12 per unit, with a formal announcement expected after Cabinet approval next week.
The minister also highlighted that a financial burden of Rs 150 billion is currently being passed on to consumers who are paying their electricity bills.
