ISLAMABAD:
Treasury and opposition senators on Tuesday criticized the government over its new net metering policy, urging it to rein in independent power producers (IPPs) instead of penalizing ordinary people who are turning to solar power due to the energy crisis.
When the upper house resumed its session, Senator Zarqa Suharwardy moved a resolution opposing the National Electricity Regulatory Authority (Nepra) (Prosumer) Regulations, 2026.
The resolution argued that the proposed framework could discourage citizen investment in rooftop solar and undermine the country’s renewable energy transition.
The energy regulator has overhauled the country’s net metering regime, moving rooftop solar generators and other small generators to a new ‘net billing’ system under the NEPRA (Prosumer) Regulations 2026, fundamentally changing the way electricity producers are paid and repealing the decade-old framework.
Under the new rules, notified on Monday by Nepra, utilities will have to buy excess electricity from prosumers (households, businesses and industries generating up to one megawatt) at the national average power purchase price, while selling the electricity to them at the applicable consumer rate, effectively ending one-to-one net metering.
Senator Zarqa called for a transparent solar policy, accused IPPs of looting the country, demanded their closure and urged the government to formulate policies that facilitate the public.
Speaking on the resolution, PTI’s parliamentary leader in the Senate, Senator Ali Zafar, said that Energy Minister Awais Leghari had earlier stated in the Senate that the government was not withdrawing the solar policy, but was now doing exactly that.
He alleged that the IPPs had become a powerful mafia and said the government continued to pay them even when they did not generate electricity, calling it an injustice.
He accused the government of further oppressing poor citizens who had installed solar systems. He said Nepra is simply following the government’s directives and the law requires the government to fulfill promises made even to ordinary citizens.
Zafar questioned which investor would invest in Pakistan if the government itself fails to fulfill its commitments and demanded that the Nepra chairman be summoned and jailed.
Speaking on the same resolution, PPP Senator Sherry Rehman said she supported the stance taken by Senators Zarqa Suharwardy and Ali Zafar.
He said Pakistan has the most expensive electricity in the entire region, while many government institutions do not pay their electricity bills. He wondered if the burden should then fall on poor citizens.
He said Pakistan was buying billions of dollars worth of furnace oil, while the power distribution system remained highly corrupt. Sherry accused the government of using electricity bills as a tax collection tool, imposing nearly ten different taxes and surcharges.
He wondered why unannounced load shedding continued if there was surplus electricity available.
The senator warned that unemployment in Pakistan had reached seven percent – a level at which governments collapse – and said investors were fleeing the country.
She added that she herself would not invest in Pakistan if tariffs were changed repeatedly.
Responding to the criticism, Energy Minister Awais Ahmed Leghari reiterated that solar electricity costs between Rs 5 and Rs 6 per unit, questioning the fairness of purchasing it at Rs 27 per unit under net metering.
He said that of the 33.5 million electricity consumers on the national grid, only 466,000 were net metering users and the majority could not be allowed to be impacted.
He said there had been no change in Nepra’s net metering policy, only a regulatory adjustment, which had also been done in the past. Responding to the PPP and PTI senators, the minister said the government and the ministry had started engaging stakeholders 10-12 months ago.
He said even the solar association had recognized the need for these changes to protect the public interest. He stressed that NEPRA’s role is to prevent unjustified increases in electricity prices and stated that the regulator had not altered a single clause in consumer contracts.
He said the decline of the rupee against the dollar began during the PTI era, pushing electricity prices to unsustainable levels. He added that net metering was approved during his ministry’s tenure in 2017-2018.
He said Pakistan had already achieved 55 percent green energy by 2025 and was on the right reform trajectory, and institutions including the World Bank praised the government’s measures.
Following the minister’s speech, the president put Senator Zarqa Suharwardy’s resolution on solar panels to a vote, and the house rejected the resolution.
