Nepra Protects Existing Rooftop Solar Users, New Net-Billing Rules to Apply Only to Future Installations

ISLAMABAD: The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (Nepra) has moved to shield existing rooftop solar consumers from financial disruption by proposing an amendment that preserves their current billing arrangements until the expiry of their contracts.

In a draft amendment to the Prosumer Regulations, 2026, issued on Monday, the regulator clarified that consumers who installed solar systems under earlier net-metering rules will continue to be billed under the old mechanism for the full term of their agreements. The revised framework will only apply once those contracts conclude.

The decision follows directives from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after the Power Division requested Nepra to review the policy to safeguard more than 466,000 existing solar users while avoiding undue financial burden on approximately 38 million grid consumers.

Nepra stated that the amendment would take retrospective effect from February 9, 2026 — the date the new Prosumer Regulations were originally notified — thereby removing uncertainty over whether previously signed agreements could be overridden. Under the revised wording, all approvals, licences, and contracts executed under the repealed regulations will remain valid and enforceable, with billing continuing under the earlier rates and mechanisms until agreement expiry.

However, Nepra made it clear that new rooftop solar installations and agreements executed after the enforcement of the 2026 regulations will fall strictly under the net-billing regime.

The draft amendment has been released for public consultation, inviting feedback from distribution companies, solar firms, industry stakeholders, and consumers before finalisation.

The move comes amid strong backlash over Nepra’s February 9 notification that replaced Pakistan’s decade-old net-metering system with net billing. Under the earlier net-metering model, prosumers could offset exported and imported electricity on a one-to-one basis. In contrast, under net billing, excess electricity is purchased by utilities at the national average energy purchase price — approximately Rs10 to Rs11 per unit — while consumers pay retail grid tariffs ranging between Rs37 and Rs55 per unit.

The proposed amendment is widely seen as an effort to restore confidence among existing solar investors while implementing a revised policy framework for future entrants.