- “My spouse opposed this coverage,” says minister blaming media development.
- PM directs authorities to formulate complete motion plan.
- Energy Division directed to file evaluate in opposition to Nepra’s transfer.
Dealing with outcry from buddies and foes alike over the newly launched web metering reforms, Vitality Minister Awais Leghari has mentioned that no modifications might be made to the photo voltaic web metering coverage for current shoppers for now.
Talking on Geo Information programme Capital Discuss on Wednesday, Leghari blamed “social media development” for the rising opposition in opposition to the newly launched reforms that successfully ended the online metering regime and changed web metering with the online billing mechanism.
“My spouse opposed this coverage, saying you had elevated my invoice after switching to web billing from web metering,” the minister mentioned on at present’s present.
He mentioned the prime minister has instructed the online billing regime not be made relevant for current shoppers right now and directed the Energy Division to file a evaluate in opposition to the ability regulator’s transfer.
Earlier at present, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif took discover of the brand new Prosumer Rules 2026 issued by the Nationwide Electrical Energy Regulatory Authority (Nepa).
In line with an announcement issued by the PM Workplace, the premier directed the Energy Division to instantly file an attraction to the ability regulator to guard the contract of current photo voltaic shoppers.
The prime minister, chairing a high-level particular assembly on Nepra’s new rules, directed the Energy Division to formulate a complete motion plan on this regard in order that the burden of 466,000 shoppers benefiting from photo voltaic wouldn’t fall on greater than 37.6 million shoppers utilizing electrical energy solely from the nationwide grid.
The assembly was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and International Minister Ishaq Dar, Federal Ministers Ahad Khan Cheema, Attaullah Tarar, Ali Pervez Malik, Sardar Owais Khan Leghari, Minister of State Bilal Azhar Kayani, Adviser on Privatisation Muhammad Ali and related senior officers.
The event got here two days after the Nepra successfully ended the online metering regime, introducing sweeping new guidelines shifting rooftop photo voltaic and different small mills to a “web billing” system.
It’s essentially altering how electrical energy is priced and reshaping the economics of distributed technology. Beneath the Nepra (Prosumer) Rules, 2026, notified on Monday, the Nationwide Electrical Energy Regulatory Authority will now require energy utilities to buy surplus electrical energy from prosumers, together with households, companies and industries producing as much as one megawatt on the nationwide common vitality buy worth, whereas promoting electrical energy again to them on the relevant client tariff.
This ends the one-to-one offset mannequin that beforehand allowed photo voltaic customers to neutralise their electrical energy payments.
The shift additionally shortens the contract horizon, with the usual settlement time period minimize to 5 years from the sooner seven years, renewable by mutual consent. Current prosumers will stay underneath their present contracts till expiry, however all future renewals and new connections will fall underneath the five-year web billing framework, considerably altering long-term funding returns.
If the worth of electrical energy equipped by the prosumer is increased than the electrical energy taken from the utility, the additional quantity will both be adjusted within the subsequent invoice or paid to the prosumer each three months.
The brand new rules, which take impact instantly, repeal the Nepra Various & Renewable Vitality Distributed Era and Internet Metering Rules, 2015, and apply to photo voltaic, wind and biogas methods.
