Govt Plans Major Reduction in Net Metering Rate

The federal government is set to lower the solar net metering tariff to Rs. 7.5-11 per unit, a significant drop from the current rate of over Rs. 21.

This comes after the price of solar panels dropped recently and the International Monetary Fund made some comments about how solar power is helping to reduce demand for grid electricity.

If approved, people who use solar panels on their roofs would get less money for extra energy and would have to pay Rs. 60 per unit for electricity from the grid during peak hours. According to a national daily, power providers are facing capacity payment issues, and the idea that six units of solar electricity could only be equivalent to one unit of grid electricity may discourage their further deployment.

Recent solar bids from K-Electric, which came in at 3.1 cents per unit, have prompted the government to submit higher prices to NEPRA.

The International Monetary Fund has called for action to increase demand for grid electricity and raised concern that the national grid is being used as a free storage facility for solar users. An earlier proposal for compensating solar users for energy sent to the grid at a predetermined rate and requiring them to pay retail tariffs for grid consumption was gross metering.